TheCable

Stoke City manager, Mark Hughes, is hopeful of welcoming Osaze Peter Odemwingie back to his squad before the end of the season.  

Odemwingie was forced to undergo knee surgery after sustaining an injury in Stoke’s shock 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City last August.

The setback prevented the 33-year-old forward from building on an encouraging start to life at the Britannia Stadium, which saw him score six goals in 15 Barclay Premier League games following his January 2014 arrival in a swap deal involving Kenwyne Jones.

However, Odemwingie has made progress in his recovery and could be back in the team before May.

“Peter is doing OK and we are really encouraged by how he is doing,” Hughes said.

“We don’t want to put too much pressure on him but we are hopeful of getting him back before the end of the season.

“It would be a help to him and to ourselves to see him back on the field over the next couple of months.”

Odemwingie made history in the summer when he became the first Potter to score in a World Cup finals – netting for Nigeria past his City teammate Asmir Begovic of Bosnia.

He now hopes to prove his fitness to win a contract extension beyond this summer.