Sidibe Injury Blow

Malian striker Sidibe has only recently returned to the Stoke squad after a three month lay off after picking up a knee injury in November's home victory over West Bromwich Albion. Big Mama himself had expressed concern over his form since his return and for this reason he was due to play in last night's reserve match versus Aston Villa, but picked up an injury during the warm up. The extent of the injury is not yet known as the results of a scan are awaited.

The loss of Sidibe during the vital run in at the end of the Premier League season would be a blow to Stoke's survival hopes and would leave the side looking dangerously short of cover up front. With Vincent Pericard out injured and Dave Kitson having returned to Reading on loan, any bad news on Sidibe would leave only James BEattie, Ricardo Fuller, Richard Cresswell and Henri Camara available for the run in, and none of these have the same attributes as the big African.