TEENAGE supporter Thomas Buckett will be given V.I.P treatment when he takes another significant step along his road to recovery from life-threatening head injuries at Stoke City's first home game of the season this weekend.
The Season Ticket holder from Clayton will be a special guest of City's Principal Club Partner Britannia when they take on Champions League qualifiers Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Indeed, to make it even more of a grand occasion, Thomas will be transported to the Britannia Stadium in a limousine as he continues a remarkable recovery from the head injuries sustained in an accident barely three months ago.
The brave youngster set his sights on being at the Spurs match at an early point in that recovery and he will fulfil his wish when he watches his heroes take on Harry Redknapp's side from the comfort of the Britannia Executive Suite.
His mother Mandy said: "We are indebted to Britannia for this very generous offer. When Tom made it clear he wanted to be at the Spurs match, we were a little concerned about him being in the crowd, so this is the perfect opportunity.
"We can't thank Stoke City enough for their support too. I am convinced that the visits paid by Andy Wilkinson and Ryan Shawcross have boosted his recovery along the way. They have shown genuine concern for his well-being right from the time when the accident occurred and their support has been truly tremendous."
Wilkinson and Shawcross have paid regular visits to Thomas since he fell from a roof at Clayton Hall Business and Language College in May and suffered multiple fractures of the skull which left him in a coma for almost two weeks.
He has amazed doctors with the speed of his recovery from those injuries since he came out of that coma and no sooner had he been sent home from hospital for the first time last month than he was attending one of City's pre-season matches at Newcastle Town where he was invited into the dressing room by Shawcross.
And only this week, the central defender visited Thomas at home to present him with his tickets for Saturday's big occasion.
