Stoke City: Mark Hughes hopes to get Peter Odemwingie back 'as good as new' 
MARK Hughes has faith in Stoke's medical team to get injured star Peter Odemwingie back to his top level. Odemwingie is expected to miss most of this season after suffering a knee ligament injury during last weekend's win over Manchester City. The 33-year-old forward has been at the heart of Hughes's plans since he arrived from Cardiff City in January.
The manager admits he will be a big loss to the team, not only on the pitch.
He said: "It’s a significant injury and unfortunately it’s a long-term one but Peter has a great attitude to work and life in general.
He’s always got a smile on his face and he’s going to need those qualities.
"It will be a long road back but we wish him well.
"We’ll miss Peter around the place. He’ll do his rehab here so we’ll see him in the dressing rooms and around the building
but we’ll really miss him out on the training field where he’s a big character.
"But we’ve got a great medical staff and they will get him back as soon as it’s possible and I’m sure he’ll be as good as new."
Odemwingie had made three appearances for Stoke since returning from starring at the World Cup with Nigeria.
He will require surgery on his knee once swelling has subsided later this month and
he has been left out of Stoke's 25-man squad. Hughes told Stoke City Player: "He’s going to have some kind of procedure but the medical staff are waiting for the knee to settle down, that’s the idea.
"By all accounts, allowing the swelling to go down before have the operation allows the knee to recover in a better manner that doing it while there’s still swelling around the problem area.
"He’s going to have to wait a couple of weeks before it’s actually done but once the operation is done we know he will work extremely hard to get back."
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