Kitson set to make Stoke return
Striker Dave Kitson will return to Stoke City after Reading failed to win promotion to the Premier League.
The 29-year-old joined Stoke for a club record fee of £5.5m from Reading but returned on loan after failing to score in 18 appearances for the Potters.
"Dave will be welcomed back," Stoke boss Tony Pulis told BBC Radio Stoke.
"I'm hoping he comes back fresher and with a sounder background away from the club that allows him to concentrate on his football."
Kitson's loan switch to the Madejski Stadium was with a view to a permanent move had Reading been promoted from the Championship.
Stoke chairman Peter Coates confirmed in April that should Reading have been promoted the Potters would be due a fee of £4.8m for Kitson.
However, the Royals' elimination from the Championship play-offs, coupled with manager Steve Coppell's resignation, has ensured that he will return to the Britannia Stadium.
"Dave has got great ability," said Pulis. "I had high hopes for him, but he's not had a good year.
"I told Steve about the issues that he had off the pitch, but he was still willing to take a chance.
"Now we have to clear all that up and get him back to what he does best, and that's playing football."
Shawcross pledges future to Stoke
Ryan Shawcross has said he is happy to remain a Stoke City player, despite being linked with a move to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Reports in national newspapers suggested Spurs were interested in signing the 21-year-old centre-back.
Shawcross told Radio Stoke after the 2-0 friendly loss at Nantwich: "I'm not really fussed about the rumours.
"I'm a Stoke player and until someone tells me otherwise, I'll still be a Stoke player."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis told Radio Stoke on Friday that his friend and Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp had not made contact with him about Shawcross.
"I get on well with Harry and would be very surprised if it's in the papers, and he hasn't rung me first," said Pulis.
But while Pulis is intent on keeping Shawcross, he said some of the first-team players who finished 12th in the Premier League last season may be allowed to leave.
"If it's right for the football club then I'll do the deals," added Pulis. "You'll always be open to criticism, people will think that you've not done it the right way, but it's important to get it right for the position we're in."
Stoke wait on Beattie knee injury
Stoke City are waiting to find out if James Beattie could be set for a spell on the sidelines after he went off injured in the 0-0 draw at Birmingham.
The former England striker will have a scan to discover the full extent of the problem, which he suffered in a clash with Blues defender Franck Queudrue.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis told BBC Radio Stoke: "We think he's going to be OK.
"We took him off as a precaution because we thought he might have done something to his knee ligaments."
Beattie scored seven goals in 16 appearances at the end of last season to help the Potters finish 12th in the Premier League.
His injury could open the door for Dave Kitson, who has yet to score for Stoke since his £5.5m move from Reading in July 2008.
The Potters have taken four points from three matches at the start of the campaign, a return which Pulis has been pleased with.
"I think having played three games in a week, and gone to Liverpool in that time, I'm proud of everyone in the team," added the Stoke manager.
The Potters will be hoping to avoid a Carling Cup shock when they go to League One side Leyton Orient on Wednesday.
Stoke receive Kenwyne Jones injury boost
New Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones could be back in action in days after a scan revealed he suffered only minor ankle ligament damage on Saturday.
It was first feared Jones could be out for weeks after suffering the injury on his debut in the 2-1 defeat at Wolves.
"The news is as good as we could have expected in the circumstances," said Stoke manager Tony Pulis.
"It is hard to say how long he will be out but we are talking days, though, not weeks or months."
Jones, who joined Stoke from Sunderland for a Potters club record £8m on 12 August, lasted barely 10 minutes of his first match following a challenge from Wolves' Jody Craddock.
He subsequently underwent a series of scans and X-rays on Monday, which revealed the 25-year-old Trinidad and Tobago international had not suffered any serious damage.
Jones almost made an immediate impact in his brief bow for Stoke, crashing a shot against the woodwork.
Pulis admitted that the injury to Jones had affected his team, who conceded two first-half goals, scored by David Jones and Stephen Fletcher, before grabbing a consolation through Abdoulaye Faye.
Stoke's next match is against Tottenham on Saturday at the Britannia Stadium.
Tiredness kills England hopes - Sorensen
Stoke and Denmark keeper Thomas Sorensen feels England struggle in major tournaments due to the tiring English football season.
Sorensen, who has been given the nod to line up for the Dane's in Wednesday evening's friendly international against Fabio Capello's Three Lions in Copenhagen, is a keen observer of the national team given that he has spent a vast amount of his career playing in England.
And, while England regularly qualify for the big tournaments such as the European Championships and World Cup, Sorensen feels the players struggle to live up to expectations because of fatigue.
"England have always had really good players - absolutely world class," said Sorensen.
"As a team, you look at them player by player and they are only behind Spain and Brazil, and England belong to a group of eight to 10 countries capable of winning the World Cup next time.
"England always go through easily in the qualifying stages but maybe the players are tired when they get to the World Cup and European Championships in the summer after the long and very hard English season.
"They just never seem to deliver what people - and themselves - expect."
"I always follow England. I've lived there a long time, for 13 years, watch them on TV, follow them and wish them the best - England has become a bit of a second country," he added.
"It's always difficult to analyse from the outside, I wasn't close to it but there's been a lot of talk about the long English season and maybe a few players were burnt out a bit."
