by Michael Baggaley
michael.baggaley@thesentinel.co.uk

STOKE striker Mama Sidibe is an injury doubt for City’s game at Hull on Sunday after pulling his hamstring in last night’s reserve win over Chelsea.

The 29-year-old Mali international returned to Premier League action for the first time in seven months on Saturday when he came on as a substitute in the 2-2 draw at home to Wolves.

But Sidibe, who had been out since March with cruciate ligament damage in his left knee, suffered a set-back after pulling up within two minutes of last night’s 3-2 victory over Chelsea at Nantwich Town.

The hamstring problem in his left leg means the striker won’t train today, leaving the City management with their fingers crossed that he will be available for the trip to the KC Stadium.

Reserve team manager Mark O‘Connor said Sidibe was hugely frustrated to have to come off. He said: “He wanted to be strapped up to go back on.... bless him.

“But there was no way that was going to happen. He has been out for a long time and there’s no point rushing him. If he’s not involved at the weekend, then we have a two-week break after that before we play Portsmouth. There was no hesitation in my mind to take him off.

“He probably won’t train on Wednesday either. We will be very softly, softly with him. We need to make sure he’s right. This reserve game would have brought him on, but there’s another reserve game away at Portsmouth next week and, if he’s right, he will play there.

“He’s done fantastically to come back. He wants to play and wants to be out there. But you have to use your head a bit, and we can wait.”
Meanwhile, O‘Connor says he has been encouraged by the progress of Uruguay international Diego Arismendi, who scored Stoke’s injury-time winner last night.

The coach said the 21-year-old midfielder is settling in well after moving from South America in a £2.6m deal in August.

He added: “The language thing is a problem. But he is having English lessons and it is getting better week by week. If I put myself in his position, and I was living in Uruguay, I don’t think I would feel at home.

“But we have made a big effort as a football club to make him welcome, because we think a lot of him. The lads have taken him on board and he is coming out of himself.

“His performance was good tonight and the goal capped it off. You could see how pleased he was when he scored. I think he is getting a feeling for the club and the place and you just hope that, in time, that makes him a first-team player.

“He has enormous talent, but, as a staff, we think he hasn’t quite picked up the pace of games. He has in reserve games, but first-team games are quicker and that will take a little bit more time.”

Scouts at last night’s game included Middlesbrough’s Gordon McQueen. He was likely to be assessing Andy Griffin after the new Boro boss Gordon Strachan reportedly placed the full back on a list of loan targets.