Pulis excited for Palacios return

Wlison Palacios is set to make a return for Stoke, and Tony Pulis couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of having his midfielder back on board.

Palacios has played just twice this season for the side, with the 27-year-old facing continual problems with his knee.

Stoke put a lot of faith in the Honduras international, signing him on deadline day despite ongoing injury problems, and now Pulis believes that that faith will be paid off shortly.


 

"He's trained with us over the last couple of days and I just think he needs a mini pre-season to get himself up and running. That's all he's lacking," Pulis told This is Staffordshire.

"We're trying to get him fully fit as soon as possible, but he's already shown in training what he's capable of doing."

Stoke currently sit at eighth in the Barclays Premier League table, and have collected nine points from seven matches.

Their form has been up and down so far this season though, with losses to Sunderland and Swansea offset as they held their nerve against Manchester United and Chelsea, coming out with respectable draws. They also defeated Liverpool 1-0 at home.

The Potters face Fulham this weekend, and have a tough schedule ahead, with Isreali side Macc Tel-Aviv in the Europa League and Arsenal at the Emirates to follow within seven days.

Pulis will be hoping to have as many players available as possible, including Palacios, so he can rotate his squad for the European and English matches to keep injuries low.