Stoke Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri Hoping for Clean Bill of Health as He Prepares for Major Fixtures

Stoke City midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is hoping to be fit following a knee injury which kept him out of the defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday. 

As reported by Stoke Sentinel, the Swiss international trained last Friday ahead of the home game against the Cherries, but he revealed he wasn't fit enough to the medical staff. 

When speaking to Radio Stoke, Stoke assistant manager Mark Bowen said: "Shaqiri has a bruise to his ankle. He joined in training on Friday but really it was too sore to be involved really. He was very honest with us."

"I suppose it was one of those where he could have strapped it up tight and got out there but he’s honest enough to realise that he’s not really fit enough to give us everything he could to win a Premier League game."

With the international break looming and Shaqiri missing the Bournemouth game, it caused concern to his national side with their World Cup play-off looming against Northern Ireland. 

Stoke play Watford next Saturday who will be looking to bounce back at the first attempt.