Tony Pulis, Manager of Stoke City Football Club, told the British tabloid newspaper, The Sun yesterday that their Icelandic striker, Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen will not be fit enough to play until December.
Stoke City FC signed Gudjohnsen from Monaco on the last day of the summer transfer window, however, he did not take part in pre-season training with Monaco over the summer. In addition, Gudjohnsen did not play regularly whilst on loan at Tottenham last term, so despite making five substitute appearances for Stoke this season, he has struggled to reach peak condition.
Consequently, the 32-year-old former Barcelona and Chelsea player was put on a fitness programme by Pulis to get him up to the pace of the Premier League. However, Pulis has revealed that the striker is still carrying excess weight.
Pulis explained, “His weight is still a bit up on what it needs to be. The pace of the Premier League now dictates you have to be 100 per cent. Hopefully sometime in December we should have him up and running.”
Despite all of this, Pulis explained that he does not regret signing Gudjohnsen and is excited about the prospect of him fully-fit and playing to his very best. Pulis added, “He’s good to have around the place and he has shown glimpses of what a player he is.”