STOKE CITY are anxiously awaiting the results of hospital tests on defender Robert Huth after he was ruled out of the next stage of their pre-season preparations.
The German international defender was sent to hospital suffering from a mystery virus after reporting to the Club’s Clayton Wood Training Ground on Monday.
Huth was therefore ruled out of the Potters’ pre-season match at Torquay United and is unlikely to feature in the game at Yeovil Town on Tuesday evening either.
“It’s a major concern so close to the start of the new season because Huthy is such an important figure for us,” said manager Tony Pulis after the draw at Plainmoor.
“It takes a lot to knock Huthy back, but he was clearly not well, so we have sent him to hospital and will hopefully have the results of the tests on him tomorrow.
“We’re just hoping he will be okay and it’s not too serious.”
In Huth’s absence, Pulis handed a place in the starting line-up to Polish international defender Sebastian Boenisch in the 1-1 draw with League Two Torquay.
City’s manager confirmed that Boenisch is on trial with the Potters as he endeavours to secure a new club following his release from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
A powerfully-built left back who featured in all of Poland’s games in the Euro 2012 Finals, he played for an hour of the match at Plainmoor before being substituted.
“Sebastian is available on a free transfer, so we’re taking a look at him over the next couple of matches and we’ll take it from there,” stated Pulis.
“He hasn’t trained much since the Euros and that showed at times, because he looked a little tired. But he’s played at the highest level for both club and country, so his circumstances mean that he is well worth looking at as a possible addition to the squad.”
Pulis believes that the performance against Torquay highlighted once again why he is anxious to freshen up the squad before the start of the new season.
“We looked quite comfortable in the first half and created some good opportunities,” he added. “But we dropped off after I made changes in the second half.
“It’s clear from this and the games in the States that there are players who came on who need to be playing regular football now which is why we are looking to bring in some new faces and freshen the squad up before the start of the season.”