Joe Allen claims he has shaken off a hamstring injury and is ready to come back into contention for Swansea's trip to Stoke on Sunday.
Swans midfielder hoping to face Stoke on Sunday
Joe Allen claims he has shaken off a hamstring injury and is ready to come back into contention for Swansea's trip to Stoke on Sunday.
The midfielder was forced to sit out the Swans' last Premier League outing against Norwich, but is hoping to avoid missing back-to-back fixtures.
With the FA Cup having taken centre stage last weekend, and with Swansea having already bowed out of that competition, Allen has been given an extended break in which to work on his fitness.
He says he has been able to make the best possible use of that recovery time, with it his opinion that he will be ready to face Stoke if called upon by boss Brendan Rodgers.
"I was really disappointed to miss the Norwich game, but my injury meant I had to sit it out," Allen told the
South Wales Evening Post.
Risk
"I felt it a few days after the West Brom game, and I just couldn't risk it. I've learned that you can make do with niggles here and there, but with a hamstring problem you have to be careful.
"As we were without a game last weekend it allowed me to work one-on-one with the medical staff and I hope to be in full training this week.
"With that behind me, I then hope to be available for the game at Stoke on Sunday."
Allen was involved in the reverse fixture with Stoke back in October and played a starring role as Swansea picked up a morale-boosting 2-0 victory.
The Wales international added: "We took a lot from that game. It wasn't just the points, it was the performance.
Dangerous
"We proved a lot of people wrong who said we were just a pretty passing team.
"Stoke are very dangerous in the air and they play to their strengths, and it is very difficult to combat.
"But on that day we stuck to a plan that worked exactly how the manager wanted it to. The way we play is easy on the eye and we get the best out of ourselves with that approach.
"But we'll also have to show once again that we can battle and dig deep when we need to.
"It will be a noisy place to go because their fans are very vocal, but it's up to us to keep them quiet."
