Stoke give injured Ireland six-month deal to prove fitness

Stoke City have handed injured midfielder Stephen Ireland a six-month contract to allow him to prove his fitness.

Ireland missed the entirety of the last Premier League season after breaking his leg during training in May 2016.

The 30-year-old was out of contract at Stoke but the club have opted to give him a short-term deal as he continues his recovery.

"Stephen has been forced to put his career on hold after suffering a very serious injury in training through no fault of his own," said Stoke's chief executive Tony Scholes.

"He's working incredibly hard to get himself back to full fitness and we felt that it was only right to offer him a short-term contract to give him peace of mind while he continues with that process.

"Stephen is grateful for the support we have shown him and we look forward to hopefully seeing him pull on a Stoke City shirt again in the near future."