TONY PULIS will assess his players
over the next 24 hours before deciding his starting eleven for Sunday’s
live televised clash against Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium.
The City boss is hoping to
have a relatively full squad at his disposal for the opening home game
of the season, with Dean Whitehead the Potters’ only certain absentee as
he serves a one-match ban following his dismissal at Reading last
weekend.
American international Geoff Cameron
was expected to link up with his City team-mates at Clayton Wood on
Friday morning, after he was finally cleared to enter the United Kingdom
late on Thursday.
Pulis did however, raise concerns as to
whether the 27-year old would be fit enough to feature against the
Gunners, having spent the past eleven days away from the Club.
“We will see how Geoff is when he gets
here,” he said. “We’ve been without him for a while now, which has been
disappointing, so we will have to check him over when he arrives.”
Should the former Houston Dynamo star
be declared fit to feature, then he could fill Whitehead’s void in the
centre of midfield; however, he will have to overcome competition from
the likes of Wilson Palacios and Rory Delap for that starting berth.
Meanwhile, Jermaine Pennant could
return to the matchday squad, after he was forced to sit out the side’s
opening day trip to the Madejski Stadium with a thigh injury.
Tomas Rosicky (calf), Bacary Sagna
(broken leg), Jack Wilshere (ankle) and Emmanuel Frimpong (knee) are all
long term absentees for the visitors, whilst defender Laurent Koscielny
will miss the clash having failed to make a full recovery from a calf
strain.
Arsene Wenger has been boosted by the
return of England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain though, after
the French boss confirmed that the youngster was back in training, and
likely to travel to the Britannia Stadium.
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