On-loan Stoke City winger Oussama Assaidi has been to see a knee specialist in the Netherlands in order to speed up his return to action, which initially looked to be beyond the end of the season.

According to manager Mark Hughes, Assaidi suffered a setback from his initial recovery but the Welshman does expect the winger to appear for the club again before his return to Liverpool.

"Ossie has been to Holland to see a knee specialist," Hughes told The Sentinel. "We are looking at all avenues to get him back as quickly as possible. He had a little setback when he pranged the fatty part of his knee, but he's getting there now.

"It's quite stable, but there is still a bit of soreness with it and we're looking at different things to try to get it right.

"We are hopeful he will be back in action before the end of the season. We hope he will still have a part to play."

Stoke are currently 10th in the Premier League.