Brek Shea reports to Stoke City, could play Saturday

Former FC Dallas winger Brek Shea is back at Stoke City, having returned from a trip into the United States to tidy up the visa formalities and such.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis does not sound over optimistic that Shea can turn up Saturday as the Potters host Reading, but it could happen.

He told reporters early Thursday that Shea would be in training later that day and hopefully available for selection Saturday at the Britannia.

What Pulis told the club’s website:

We would like him to be fit and ready to go, but we will have to have a look at him, just as we will with a few of the other lads who have been away on international duty.”

In the same piece, Pulis wonders how a couple of his players might be physically after playing internationals on Wednesday and then traveling for most of the day Thursday. U.S. center back Geoff Cameron was one of them.

U.S. players took a charter late Wednesday night out of Central America into Miami, where they made their connections on Thursday.

It’s frustrating because we have had a busy Christmas and New Year period, we’ve had a few midweek games and the transfer window, and when all of that is finally cleared up, players have to go off flying all around the world.”