Stoke City manager Michael O’Neill has revealed that midfielder Mikel Obi will not be rushed back into action.

The former Nigeria international suffered a calf injury in Stoke’s 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday last month and that has seen him miss the team’s last four fixtures.

Mikel has however returned to training, but will likely miss the team’s trip to Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday (today).

O’Neill while addressing the team’s injury issues in his pre-match press conference disclosed that Mikel who started the Potters’ first 14 matches of the season, will not be hurried back to the pitch.

“We’ll assess John Obi. He trained for part of the session on Sunday, but the important thing is not bringing players back too early and risking re-injury,” O’Neill said.

“I suppose the big positive is that no one added to our injury list from the game on Saturday.”

“Sam Clucas is still a little bit away; he is not out on the grass yet.”

Stoke are currently eighth on the league table, eight points away from log leaders, Norwich City.

Mikel joined the club in the summer after terminating his contract with Turkish club, Trabzonspor in March due to his comments on COVID-19.