Michael O’Neill shares Nick Powell update after Stoke City’s defeat to Bournemouth | OneFootball

Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill has revealed that Nick Powell sustained a fibula injury during yesterday’s clash with AFC Bournemouth.

The influential attacking midfielder was withdrawn in the first-half of the game after colliding with Cherries man Jefferson Lerma.

Mario Vrancic was brought on as Powell’s replacement but was unable to help his side to secure a positive result last night.

Despite creating chances in this particular fixture, Stoke were made to pay for their failure to convert these opportunities into goals as Bournemouth sealed all three points at the bet365 Stadium.

Dominic Solanke netted what turned out to be the winning goal for the Cherries in the second-half as he fired home from close-range.

Whilst Stoke did push for an equaliser in the closing stages of the game, Bournemouth held on to secure their fifth away league victory of the season.

As a result of this defeat, the Potters slipped to sixth in the Championship standings.

Following the game, O’Neill shared an update on Powell’s injury.

Speaking to the Stoke Sentinel about the attacking midfielder, the Potters boss said: “He’s very sore, outside of his fibula.

“We’ll see if there’s any damage there but it’s too early to say.”

Stoke will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Championship when they head to The Den to face Millwall on Saturday.

The Verdict

For Stoke’s sake, they will be hoping that Powell’s issue is not that serious as the former Manchester United man has made a stunning start to the 2021/22 campaign.

During the nine league games that he has played for Stoke this season, the attacking midfielder has scored five goalsone assist.

If Powell is unable to feature against Millwall, O’Neill may need to turn to Vrancic for inspiration in this particular fixture.

The midfielder has already created four goals for his team-mates in all competitions and thus will be confident in his ability to deliver an eye-catching performance this weekend.

If Stoke beat Millwall on Saturday, they could potentially use the momentum gained from this result to push on under the guidance of O’Neill in the coming months.