Stoke City suffer frustrating blow to influential player

Stoke City will be disappointed to hear that they may have to wait to see a return for Mario Vrancic, with the news from the club’s official website that he could spend the next month on the sidelines.

The Potters will be facing off against Wigan this weekend and after going three games without a victory, their FA Cup tie this weekend presents them with a chance to get back to winning ways.

They’ll have to do so without first-team mainstay Vrancic though, who is looking at three to four weeks out of action after picking up a knock. It means that someone else will have the chance to come in and impress but means the 32-year-old will be unable to have any impact on this fixture or any of their next few.

Having featured in 23 league games this season and bagged three goals and five assists along the way, he has certainly been pivotal in helping the Potters to try and launch a play-off bid.

There is a chance here for the Championship side to also go out and try and string together a bit of a cup run by seeing off League One Wigan. It won’t be easy but Michael O’Neill’s side will fancy themselves – so the blow of losing Vrancic will be hard to take.

Considering he has already matched his goal contribution target during the last campaign with Norwich, there seems to be plenty more that Vrancic can give this season but for now, he will have to make do with sorting out his recovery and sitting on the sidelines for the time being.

The Verdict

Mario Vrancic has proven, over the last couple of seasons, that while he may not be a perceived ‘big name’ in the Championship he can still do a solid job in the second tier on a regular basis.

In fact, the 32-year-old’s contributions often fly under the radar and considering that he played