Stoke City are waiting to find out the severity of an ankle injury sustained by captain Ryan Shawcross in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Leicester.

The 31-year-old centre-back sustained the injury in a friendly against Leicester at the weekend. He has undergone surgery, but Jones refused to put a date on the defender's potential return.

INTERVIEW: Johnson's career really took off when he signed for Chelsea from London rivals West Ham back in 2003 as Roman Abramovich ushered in a bold new era at Stamford Bridge.

SPORTS AGENDA BY MIKE KEEGAN: A clue about Harry Maguire's £80million move to Manchester United actually surfaced a week ago.

The 21-year-old defender harbours ambitions for a regular first-team spot at Old Trafford, rendering a loan switch to the Championship side very unlikely.

EXCLUSIVE: The Potters appeared set on terminating the former England Under-21 star's contract without severance money amid the fall-out over his drink driving case earlier this year.

Glen Johnson has ripped into his former Stoke team-mate Saido Berahino. Johnson played with Berahino between 2017 and 2018 before the former Liverpool defender retired.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed on Thursday how Stoke had been forced to abandon plans to sack Berahino following his drink driving conviction earlier this year.

EXCLUSIVE BY ADRIAN KAJUMBA: Jack Butland is ready to quit English football and move to Europe in the next fortnight to save his England career ahead of Euro 2020 next summer.

JANINE SELF AT THE BET365 STADIUM: An emotional outburst from Stoke manager Nathan Jones promises a Monday morning from hell when the players next gather for training.

JASON MELLOR AT ELLAND ROAD: Danny Batth put Stoke into the lead before Sam Vokes doubled their advantage during the first-half of the second round clash at Elland Road.

Stoke City are facing a legal fight after failing to pay a mandated agent when they signed their former striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Former Liverpool and England footballer Michael Owen has admitted he was staring 'into an abyss called divorce' as he struggled to come to terms with life after he hung up his boots.

ON THE ROAD: Paul takes a quick glance at his watch and lets out a heavy sigh. 'A season or two ago, this place would have been rammed by now,' he says.

Stoke boss Nathan Jones admitted his much-changed side were 'nowhere good enough' after they crashed out of the Carabao Cup to League Two Crawley.

IAN WHITTELL AT THE BET365 STADIUM: Nathan Jones edged ever closer to the exit door at struggling Stoke with yet another helping hand from his goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Saido Berahino has expressed his disappointment at Glen Johnson's comments and questioned why he never confronted him during their time together at Stoke.

Stoke could ask Tony Pulis to return for a third spell in charge of the Championship club if they sack Nathan Jones, according to The Sun.

Stoke have endured a woeful start to the Championship season under Nathan Jones and are rooted to the bottom of the table with just two points from 10 matches.

The former England Under-21 international was due to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court in north west London on Tuesday morning to answer the charge, but never turned up.

Millwall have appointed former Stoke City and Derby County boss Gary Rowett as their new manager, following the deaprture of Neil Harris earlier this month.

EXCLUSIVE: Stoke City HAVE FIRED manager Nathan Jones, after the club slipped to second bottom of the Championship following a dismal run of results.

Alex Neil is the man Stoke City want as their next manager following the dismissal of Nathan Jones on Friday. The Potters currently find themselves in the relegation zone following a poor start.

Preston reacted angrily to widespread reports that Neil was Stoke's favoured choice and that he was ready to take on the challenge of resurrecting the Championship's bottom placed club.

Stoke have made a formal approach to the Irish FA and are ready to pay the £650,000 compensation figure included in the new contract Michael O'Neill signed in February 2018 to bring him to the Potteries.

EXCLUSIVE BY MIKE KEEGAN: A small section of fans of the home club were heard to sing songs including the words 'f*** the Pope and the IRA' and 'f*** the IRA' a number of times.

EXCLUSIVE: Sportsmail understands that candidates to replace Michael O'Neill believe they would have to wait until after Euro 2020 finals to take over should the team make it through.

O'Neill was installed as Stoke City boss last week but it was confirmed that he will take charge of the final Group C qualifiers against Holland and Germany, as well as a potential play-off.

A goalless draw with Holland in Belfast on Saturday ended Northern Ireland's hopes of automatic qualification from Group C, even before their final qualifier against Germany tomorrow.

Stoke want £15million for Allen, 29, who is on around £65,000 per week, yet West Ham are looking to pay closer to £8m. Stoke had interest from Burnley in the summer who remain admirers.

JASON MELLOR AT THE RIVERSIDE STADIUM: Lewis Wing added to his collection of stand out strikes to put the brakes on Stoke's bid to climb out of the Championship drop zone.

Aston Villa are poised to step up their search for a goalkeeper and a striker with the club expecting Wesley and Tom Heaton face significant spells out of action.

Stoke City midfielder Peter Etebo is in talks over a move to Getafe. The 24-year old is due to join on loan with view to a permanent sale. Etebo joined Stoke from Feirense in the summer of 2018.

The charge relates to chants heard during the Sky Bet Championship clash between Barnsley and Stoke at Oakwell on November 9, which the Potters won, in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday.

SIMON JONES: Manager Garry Monk is having to work on a tight budget but wants to strengthen his goalscoring options as he strives to make an impression on the play-off places.

Celtic are expected to watch Stoke City striker Tyrese Campbell on Saturday ahead of a potential move. The 22-year-old is out of contract in the summer and Celtic are interested.

Cardiff City boss Neil Harris is interested in a reunion with Stoke City forward Lee Gregory after their success together at Millwall.

Kenwyne Jones has lifted the lid on the 'deplorable' pigs head prank he was on the receiving end of at Stoke and had members of the Muslim community contacting him offering to 'handle the situation.' 

The sanction relates to chants heard during the Sky Bet Championship clash between the sides on November 9, which the Potters won 4-2.

The nickname was a reference to a former team-mate who, rather than having a drinks break with the rest of the squad, would instead have a chat with the manager and coaching staff.

James McClean has been punished after posting an image of himself in a balaclava, accompanied by a caption that read 'today's school lesson - history', interpreted as a reference to the IRA.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY IAN LADYMAN: Instead of the intensity of a survival fight and the anticipation of a Euro 2020 play-off game, O'Neill is living his life in suspended animation.

Dykes, who is 6ft 2ins tall and quick, has been followed by a number of Championship sides but Stoke hope they can strike a bargain ahead of rivals once the transfer window opens this summer.

The clamour for Mohamed Sankoh is growing after an impressive campaign at Stoke's academy, scoring nine goals and registering nine assists in his 16 appearances for the club's Under-18 side

Benik Afobe has opened up on having to bury his baby daughter last year after kissing her goodbye, and the outpouring of love his family has received since the tragic event.

PETER CROUCH: This week, Crouchie reflects on the time he scored with his hand against Arsenal, his plans for when the lockdown is lifted and why Jamie Redknapp was livid with him at Southampton.

It's a busy night of Carabao Cup action as the leading Premier League clubs enter the competition at the third round stage. Join Sportsmail's ADAM SHERGOLD for all the goals as they go in.

HARRY SLAVIN AT VICARAGE ROAD: Quique Sanchez Flores made the first steps on his road to redemption after Watford battled past Championship high-flyers Swansea.

Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores will ensure Danny Welbeck is fully fit and firing before handing him a regular first-team spot.

Borja Baston's sixth goal of the season in the third minute looked to have won it for the Swans, but Andy Yiadom earned Reading a last-gasp point at the Liberty Stadium as they missed out on top spot.