Ryan Shawcross withdrew from the England Under-21 squad as a precaution and should be fighting fit for the big weekend game against West Brom.

“Ryan is on a programme of sugar injections in his knee,” boss Tony Pulis told the Stoke Sentinel, “and it just so happened he was having one as pre-arranged last Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, he felt really sore after the injection, which isn’t surprising when you think the needle goes right into the joint."

The Potters can take a big leap towards safety with a win against the rock-bottom Baggies and Pulis added: “We’ll go steady with him this coming week and see how he is feeling ahead of the Albion game, but we’re hopeful he’ll be OK.”

“We certainly need each and every player in there punching their weight because the gloves are off now with just eight games to go.”