Stephen Ireland has made a long-awaited return to the Stoke bench following a lengthy injury lay-off since breaking his leg in May 2016.
He has been named on the matchday squad for their clash against Newcastle.
The former Republic of Ireland player suffered the injury during a training session, according to the club. Ireland had already been struggling with injury problems prior to the incident and was getting limited match time with the first team.
It was not the first time he had experienced a serious leg injury, after he was left with a deep gash from a challenge by former Hull defender Maynor Figueroa at the end of the previous season.
💪 Good to see this man back in the matchday squad this afternoon.#SCFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/9s8hH6rnf4
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) January 1, 2018
Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho is a notable absentee in the Liverpool starting team currently taking on Burnley at Turf Moor. It is believed that he may not be fit to start, but his omission has fuelled speculation that he could be in a line for a move to Barcelona in the transfer window.
Nike, who are Barcelona's kit manufacturers, named Coutinho in an advert for Barcelona gear on New Year's Eve. It was quickly removed from Nike's website, but several Liverpool fans took to social media to vent their anger about the matter.
The Brazilian was previously the subject of a series of failed bids by the Spanish club last summer.
A reminder of today's starting XI... 🔴 pic.twitter.com/0fGtWVv9Ts
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 1, 2018
Mohamed Salah is also unavailable to play, after picking up an injury in Liverpool's clash against Leicester over the weekend.
