Hughes hopeful over Odemwingie fitness

Odemwingie was forced to undergo knee surgery after being hurt in Stoke's shock 1-0 win at Manchester City last August.

The 33-year-old forward has therefore been prevented from building on an encouraging start to life at the Britannia Stadium, which saw him score six goals in 15 Premier League appearances following his January 2014 arrival in a swap deal involving Kenwyne Jones.

However, Odemwingie has his sights set on returning to first-team action this term.

"Peter is doing OK and we are really encouraged by how he is doing," said Hughes on Thursday.

"We don’t want to put too much pressure on him but we are hopeful of getting him back before the end of the season.

"It would be a help to him and to ourselves to see him back on the field over the next couple of months."