The Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam could be set for a return to first-team action for the first time since losing his father tragically a few weeks ago. The former Liverpool and Blackpool man had to suffer the sudden loss of his father a few weeks ago.

Since then, he has not played for Stoke City, but the manager Tony Pulis has revealed that he is considering including the midfielder into the starting lineup for the match against Manchester City. Pulis has said that it is difficult to know how players will react when they lose one of their parents, but he is confident that Adam can cope with the loss.

Pulis has said that all the players at Stoke City are extremely close, which means that Adam can remain comfortable. Stoke come into the match on the back of the disappointing 3-3 draw with relegation threatened Southampton.

After being extremely good in terms of the defensive performances in the first half of the season, Pulis was extremely disappointed to concede a lot of goals in recent matches. The manager has acknowledged that a few of his players have been looking tired, and he will be looking to make some changes for the visit to the Etihad stadium.

“It’s very difficult to gauge how individuals react to losing their parents, but the good thing about this place is that the players are so close to each other. They are a good group of players. Him being around, even sitting on the bench for a couple of games, takes his mind off it, just to be part of it. We will be looking to freshen it up. I thought one or two players looked tired against Southampton. Ryan comes back into the squad. We will make three or four changes,” said Pulis.