Stoke City boss Michael O'Neill has revealed that the injury that forced Ryan Shawcross off in the midweek victory over Luton isn't as bad as they feared.

The Potters captain had missed the first five months of the campaign after suffering a horrific ankle injury in the pre-season game against Leicester City. However, he had returned to training in recent weeks and was given his first start since the previous season on Tuesday.

Yet, there was more bad luck for the 32-year-old in that game, as he lasted just 15 minutes before a groin issue saw him replaced by Danny Batth.

And, O'Neill gave the latest on Shawcross when speaking to the club's media today, revealing a somewhat positive update even though he has no chance of featuring against Reading tomorrow.

"We are fine injury wise other than Ryan Shawcross who picked up a groin injury on Tuesday. It's not as bad as first feared though and hopefully he'll only be out for a couple of games."

Batth is sure to continue in the heart of the defence for the visit of the Royals, with Stoke knowing a victory could see them finally move out of the bottom three.

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The verdict

This is a positive update for Stoke as it's quite clearly not as bad as it could have been for the defender.

Having said that, it's another setback and it's unfortunate for the player as he will have been desperate to go out and make an impact after his previous injury issues.

But, it's now about focusing on recovery for Shawcross and he will be hoping the team can build on the Luton win in his absence.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.