Stoke City have revealed that one of their key defenders is set to spend some time on the sidelines.
Promising Spaniard Marc Muniesa sustained a hamstring injury in the weekend's 4-1 FA Cup loss to Blackburn Rovers and is expected to be out for at least a month.
Potters assistant Mark Bowen confirmed that scans have told the club that Muniesa, who was estimated to be out for around two months, will now miss as many as six weeks.
"We initially feared Marc's injury was a really bad one, about eight weeks. He had a scan on Monday and they've come back and said it'll be between four to six weeks so maybe we're thankful for small mercies," he told BBC Radio Stoke.
"We feel for the lad. He will be the first to say - like a few of the lads - that he struggled on Saturday but over the past two months you could argue he's been our best defender, showing a lot of maturity to nail that left-sided centre-half spot as his own.
"He's a genuinely nice kid who's a fantastic professional and his career up to this date has been blighted by serious injury. We do know that having gone through what he has he's got a fantastic work ethic and strong mind. Hopefully he will be back in four weeks rather than six."
