Saturday's game against Bournemouth signals the end of the latest, frustrating international break and its back to business for Premier League clubs up and down the land amid a collective sigh of relief that the next such imposition is not until March 2017. These breaks are fraught periods for managers; the last thing they want is an injury to one of their star players while they represent their national side and in that respect, the news is mixed for Stoke manager Mark Hughes.
While it would appear that the majority of his players have returned unscathed, the news isn't so good for Glenn Whelan and Wilfried Bony, who both returned from duty nursing hamstring and ankle injuries respectively.