Stoke City have had a surreal run of injuries over the last few weeks
12:30, 15 Jan 2026
Viktor Johansson and Robert Bozenik will remain key figures in day-to-day life at Stoke City while they are on the injury list.
Johansson and Bozenik are both recovering from shoulder surgery last week while an update is expected tomorrow on Junior Tchamadeu, who is back at Clayton Wood to have a knee injury he picked up on Cameroon duty assessed.
No public timescale has been put on recovery but they will not be isolated in the treatment room until they get the green light to train again.
Lewis Baker (ankle), Eric Bocat (knee), Aaron Cresswell (calf) and Ben Gibson (hamstring) are hoping to return to Mark Robins’ plans soon.
Striker Nathan Lowe, aged 20, has ended a loan spell at Stockport County as he recuperates from a leg injury but there are hopes he could be back playing next month.
Fellow forward Emre Tezgel, also 20, had been in electric form on loan at Crewe and will head back to Gresty Road when he recovers from an ankle injury. Crewe hope that will be “only a couple of months” as they fight to break into the League Two play-offs.
Stoke sporting director Jon Walters said: “We have a duty of care to help players. We’re all part of the same team, aren't we?
“We do everything we possibly can to get them out there as quickly and as safely as possible but, whatever happens, Viktor and Robert are going to be a big part of us between now and the end of the season.
“In this time they're injured, they're a big part of the dressing room, they're a big part of what we do, they’ll be a part of meetings, they'll be a part of team building, they'll be a part of the changing room because that's what they are. We lose them in one sense but gain them in another.
“Nathan and Emre have both been back in the building in the last couple of weeks. It’s bad news but good news on those two because (despite initial fears) they're not going be out for the season.
“They’re still going to play a part in some way or form in their own right.
“Emre has had a couple of scans and it was a really nasty injury but not one which will end his season. He will be all right.
“Their mentality has been first class as well.”
Stoke return to Championship action this weekend when they take on Queens Park Rangers at the bet365 Stadium (Saturday, 3pm).
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