Stoke City boss Mark Hughes doesn't want Ryan Shawcoss to rush his injury recovery.

The 27-year-old has been a big miss this season after having back surgery.

Hughes said: "He could have trained with us but we were doing more specific work for the Villa game at the weekend, so we didn't really need to use him.

"He was better served having a longer session with the under-21s. There's no reason to think he'll get any reaction now.

"When everybody comes back from international duty, he shouldn't be far off being in my thoughts to play.

"He's done great. He's done really well to get back and we're delighted.

"He's not a million miles away. He was probably a little bit disappointed that he didn't join in with us, but he looks good.

"He's in a good place. We're really pleased."