Key figure shares Stoke City injury update on senior duo ahead of Watford clash | OneFootball

Stoke City travel to take on Watford in the League Cup tonight, with boss Michael O’Neill expected to make plenty of changes again.

The Potters have beaten Fleetwood and Doncaster to reach this stage, and they will be looking to overcome Premier League opposition this evening.

As mentioned, O’Neill has used these games to test out his squad and he will rotate again. However, two players who won’t feature are Steven Fletcher and Joe Allen, with assistant Dean Holden giving an update on the pair when speaking to Stoke-On-Trent Live.

“Fletch is not back in training just yet. We’re just having that monitored and hopefully we’ll know pretty soon in terms of when he’ll be back. Joe did a bit of light work on the grass this morning and as the week pans out we’ll see where we’re at in terms of him coming back into the training group.”

Elsewhere, Tyrese Campbell won’t play as he continued his comeback by scoring for the U23s last night, whilst Abdallah Sima is expected to get another run-out after getting his first full start at Derby last time out.

20 quiz questions about Stoke City’s 2021/22 season so far – Can you score full marks?

1 of 20

How many goals did Stoke's first game have?

3

4

5

6

The verdict

There’s no denying that the Championship is the priority for Stoke this season and they have a real chance of winning promotion, so the fans will accept a rotated team.

It’s a shame for Allen and Fletcher that they won’t be able to feature after recent setbacks, but Holden’s update suggests the injuries aren’t serious, particularly in the case of the midfielder who could return this weekend.

Tonight presents those on the fringes with a good opportunity to try and show what they can do and to try and give the boss a headache ahead of the weekend.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.