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Injured Mikel out of Stoke City clash versus Adomah’s Queens Park Rangers
With the former Nigeria captain still out injured, he has been excused from Tuesday’s league game between the Potters and Mark Warburton's Superhoops
John Obi Mikel will play no part in Tuesday’s Championship fixture between Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers.
Michael O'Neill’s men will be eyeing all maximum points against Mark Warburton’s team in their quest to push for a place in the Premier League.
The formerChelseastar has been out of action since November 28 when he suffered a calf injury in the Potters’ 0-0 draw atSheffield Wednesday.Before his injury, he had featured in 15 games across all competitions, bagging an assist while captaining the team on a number of occasions.
As a result of that knock, he missed his side’s last four games against Wycombe Wanderers, Middlesbrough, Cardiff City and Derby County.
Manager O’Neill had revealed that the Nigerian would be examined to ascertain his level of preparedness for the crunch fixture despite his return to training.
“We’ll assess John Obi today [on Monday]. He trained for part of the session yesterday [Sunday], but the important thing is not bringing players back too early and risking re-injury,” O'Neill told the club's official website.
“I suppose the big positive is that no one added to our injury list from the game on Saturday."
Also ruled out for Stoke is Cameroonian goalkeeper Blondy Nna Noukeu following his inability to make the cut.
On the other side, the Superhoops have Nigeria-prospect Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ghana’s Albert Adomah and Morocco’s Ilias Chair in their starting XI. Zimbabwe's Macauley Bonne will start from the bench while Sierra Leone's Osman Kakay has been axed from the squad.
Victory for Mikel's team at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium would boost their standing in the second tier.
Currently, they are eighth having accrued 29 points from 18 games, while QPR occupy the 19th spot with 16 points from the same number of outings.
