Stoke expect Matthew Etherington to be fit for Europa tie

Stoke are hopeful that winger Matthew Etherington will be fit for their Europa League tie with FC Thun on Thursday night.

The 30-year-old suffered an arm injury against Chelsea on Sunday but scans have revealed that he only suffered minor nerve damage.

Etherington has travelled with the Stoke squad for the first leg of their Europa League play-off in Switzerland.

"Once we've trained on the artificial pitch and got a feel for it, I will talk to the medical team about one or two players who have knocks and Matty is one of them," Potters manager Tony Pulis said.

"It's obviously a huge relief that the injury to Matty is not serious, but he is still a bit sore.

"Like some of our other more experienced players, he knows his body better than anyone. So I will speak with him and the medical team before I make a decision."

Jonathan Woodgate, Rory Delap and Jermaine Pennant are likely to miss the match on Thursday as Pulis doesn't want to risk them on FC Thun's plastic pitch.