Stoke assistant Bowen excited for Afellay return

Ibrahim Afellay’s return could give Stoke City’s attack the thrust it needs according to assistant manager Mark Bowen – as the Dutchman finalises his recovery from an eight-month lay-off.

The 30-year-old damaged his knee ligaments in training towards the end of last season and has not featured so far this campaign.

The Dutchman joined the Potters from Barcelona on a free transfer in 2015, and he impressed in his debut season – combining nicely with Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic in an exciting Potters attack.

Stoke have struggled to find the net this season, scoring just 13 times in 12 Premier League games, and Bowen was quickly reminded of Afellay’s qualities when he trained with the squad on Tuesday.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

“He’s been training with the group but in situations when there’s been no contact. If we’ve had games then he’s been playing on both sides so he doesn’t get any tackles,” he said.

“Tuesday was a step forward because he was training with the group and we could see all his attributes that delighted us last year.

“You can almost forget that because it’s out of sight out of mind, but looking at all the qualities he’s got you can’t wait until he’s back challenging for a place.

“You have to be very cautious and I’m guilty of being a glass half full person – and things come back to bite me on the bum – but you hope within a week, two weeks that he is stepping up a bit more and maybe taking part in an U23 game to get an hour or even 90 minutes under his belt.”