Fuller’s comeback put on hold
JAMAICAN international and Stoke City forward Ricardo Fuller, who has been sidelined for the last six months due to a ruptured Achilles tendon and who will be the star guest at tomorrow’s annual meeting of the Stoke City Old Boys Association (SCOBA) to be held at the Britannia, continues to see his long-awaited return put on hold.
The striker’s return to action has been delayed mainly due to a of lack of match fitness, but he could be back by the start of next month as he targets the Europa League tie at home to Dynamo Kiev on December 1.
Fuller, who has been out since last April, had been pencilled in for a possible run out in the reserves, but last Tuesday’s game against Port Vale was postponed.
Manager Tony Pulis has the option of arranging a behind-closed-doors friendly during the next fortnight to let Fuller blow away a few cobwebs after such a long time out.
The club had hoped their highly regarded striker would be ready for last Saturday’s fixture against Queens Park Rangers. However, he was pulled out of a recent Central League Cup reserve game at the club’s training ground against Rotherdam — a game which had been earmarked as a chance for the 32-year-old striker to step up his rehabilitation after six months on the sidelines.
A successful appearance then could have paved the way for a place on the substitutes’ bench against Queens Park Rangers in Stoke’s last Premeir League outing at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
But as the club continues to carefully manage the recovery of the Jamaican international coach, Pulis noted before the team’s 2-3 loss to QPR over the weekend that the striker was nearing a comeback, but said that game was too early for him.
Stoke rescheduled the reserve game at home against Port Vale; however, the match was postponed, which means Fuller will have to rely on Pulis setting up arranged matches for him to get enough match practice to meet his December 1 comeba ck date.
Fuller, now in his final year of his Stoke contract, has been in the treatment room since falling ackwardly at Aston Villa last April and sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon, which also made him miss last season’s FA Cup final, which Stoke lost to Chelsea.
