Carew yet to convince

Carew: Hoping to earn an extended stay at the Britannia Stadium

Tony Pulis admits injuries have prevented John Carew from making much of an impact at Stoke.

The experienced striker linked up with the Potters in January, after falling out of favour at Villa Park.

He saw his contract cancelled by Gerard Houllier, allowing him to sign a deal with Stoke until the end of the season.

The intention was for the Norwegian to spend the second half of the campaign staking a claim for a long-term deal.

He has, however, seen niggling knocks hinder his progress and deny him the opportunity to prove his worth to Pulis, with a decision on his future yet to be made.

Problem

The Stoke boss said: "He's a big lad and really good around the place, the lads have really taken to him.

"He's got a great sense of humour, very witty and dry. The problem is he's been injured and so we haven't had him as much as we'd have liked.

"But he's fit and has trained really well, so he will be involved, one way or another against Villa [on Saturday].

"They cancelled his contract and we took it on until the end of the season, so he can play. He'll relish going back, I'm sure.

"He's an option, but having said that, the other two, Kenwyne Jones and Jon Walters, have been absolutely outstanding.''