Confirmed: Narcis Pelach set for double Stoke City boost | OneFootball

Lawal has not featured for the Potters this season, while Gallagher has had two separate setbacks.

Stoke City are set to be boosted by the return of two summer signings in the coming weeks, as both Bosun Lawal and Sam Gallagher step up their recoveries from injury.

Narcis Pelach confirmed this news in his pre-Derby County press conference, after what has been a tough start to life at Stoke in terms of injury problems.

Lawal has not featured at all for the Potters this season after it emerged in his medical that he had played through a stress fracture in his lower back throughout the 2023/24 campaign for Fleetwood Town, the side he was on loan for from Celtic.

Gallagher, on the other hand, has had two separate issues that have seen him limited to just three appearances in the Championship so far, however, he did manage to pick up a goal and an assist in his first start against Portsmouth at the start of October.

Gallagher and Lawal set to return soon for Stoke

Not many would have predicted the start that Lawal has had at the bet365 Stadium, but bringing him back slowly was the only option that the Potters have had.

Pelach explained that the talented centre-back, who can also play further forward in a holding midfield role, is waiting for a scan to determine whether he can start to make that step up in training intensity or not.

He said: "Then we have Bosun Lawal who is getting a scan today. It’s an important day for us in relation to this because he’s had a stress fracture in the back as we know and the scan will give us further information – and hopefully we can start to make steps in the right direction with him and get him back onto the grass next week maybe.

"It depends on the test so I can’t wait until this evening to know the outcome because we need him."

The Stoke boss continued: "He’s a strong, physical player. I think he’s a good addition to the squad. I didn’t know him before but I’ve been analysing him a lot over the last six weeks with previous games he played last season.

"I think he’s a player who can give us a lot and I can’t wait to have him available. Hopefully this evening we will receive good news and we can start building him up. He missed a bit of pre-season too so it’s not just bringing him back, it’s building him up."

The boost of Gallagher returning will also be felt, as he has had a fantastic impact on the games that he did play in, but the frustration of him missing out on the majority of this season has been large. Nevertheless, he has the ability to come back into the team after the international break and play a huge part in the festive fixtures.

Gallagher must find a way to keep himself fit after his return

Although Lawal is possibly a while away from making his debut for the Potters, Gallagher is a lot closer to making his return to the squad, but when he does, he must find a way to keep himself out of the treatment room.

He has had two calf injuries already this term, something that will be extremely disappointing for the forward who has shown to be a good influence on Tom Cannon.

It was an issue that plagued his time at Blackburn Rovers, and for £1.5m it was a risk that Stoke were willing to take, one that is not paying off so far.

However, there is still plenty of time for him to find a fix to his current problems and get himself playing regular football, scoring the necessary goals and picking up assists to take Pelach's side away from any potential relegation danger and into the top half of the table.