Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed that Peter Odemwingie will be in the squad to face Sunderland tomorrow after eight months on the sidelines.
The Nigerian international forward has not played since rupturing knee ligaments in August's win over Manchester City.
However, the 33-year-old has taken big steps in his recovery over the last fortnight and could feature from the bench during Saturday's visit of the Black Cats.
"He's doing really well and is on schedule," Hughes told reporters. "He's not in a position to start games yet, but he's been able to train for a full 90 minutes for two weeks now.
"He's ready, and he's an option if we need him to do 20, 25 minutes for us in a game. I told him today of my plans and - as you'd expect - I was met with a big, wide smile. He's desperate to play.
"It's a big thing for him and a big thing for the rest of the squad too. We've been judging him on his levels from before the injury and his stats are better now than they were before, so we are delighted to see him back."
Odemwingie has scored five goals in 18 games since joining the Potters, who will surpass their best ever Premier League points total with victory over Sunderland.
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