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Arsenal boost as key Stoke man ruled out of Gunners clash

By on December 9, 2016

Arsenal have been handed a boost after Stoke boss Mark Hughes confirmed that Ryan Shawcross has been ruled out of tomorrow’s trip to the Emirates.

The centre-back has missed the Potters’ last two games against Watford and Burnley due to a calf injury which he sustained in training last month.

Stoke were hopeful he’d be back in contention to take on Arsenal this weekend but Hughes confirmed at his pre-match press conference today that Shawcross is yet to return to training so won’t make the tip to north London.

However, Hughes also revealed some positive news for the Potters as Bruno Martins Indi has been passed fit after suffering a cheekbone injury against Burnley.

The Welshman told StokeCityfc.com:

“Ryan hasn’t managed to join in with the group yet so it is unlikely he will be involved.

“It’s frustrating but we want to make sure he is right – he is progressing and is doing the right work with the right people, so hopefully it won’t be long until he is back available.”

“Thankfully Bruno is ok, and he will travel with us,”

“It was an awful incident and everybody saw it apart from the retrospective panel, which is surprising.

“The main thing for us though is that he is ok, as it could have been significantly worse.”

Arsenal fans have a particularly animosity towards Shawcross after he broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg back in February 2010 but we can’t deny his importance to Stoke so it’s a big boost that he won’t be playing tomorrow.

In other news, the visitors will be able to call upon the dangerous Marko Arnautovic as he’s been passed fit despite picking up a knock last week but Geoff Cameron is still out.

As for Arsenal, we appear to have been handed a huge boost with Hector Bellerin taking part in full training today after recovering from an ankle injury. You can see photos of Hector in training here.