Stoke City v Man Utd: Star returns to training and another nearing return

Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher returned to training at Stoke City after recovering from a knee injury which kept the midfielder out of his National team – Scotland’s FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Lithuania and Malta.

Fletcher, 33, has made a decent start to Stoke City career but was limping when he suffered the knock in a 1-1 draw with one of his former clubs West Brom a fortnight ago.

Fletcher should, however, be fit enough for selection against his other former club Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.
Fellow old boy at Manchester United Mame Diouf, now 29, is also hoping to be fully fit for Mark Hughes ahead of the weekend clash.

The wing-back missed the game at West Bromwich Albion with a knee injury and had to withdraw from Senegal’s FIFA World Cup doubleheader qualifiers with West African neighbours Burkina Faso. He has been working hard at Clayton Wood and is believed to be recovering well to join the team for full training on Thursday morning.

Maxim Choupo-Moting suffered a hamstring injury in Cameroon’s 4-0 loss to the Super Eagles of Nigeria that ruled out of a 1-1 draw in Monday night’s reverse fixture.

Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma sat out France’s 0-0 draw with Luxembourg after sustaining an ankle injury during a training session, but it is hoped to be only a minor knock.

Former Barcelona star Ibrahim Afellay is recovering from a knee surgery he underwent a few months ago.