Stoke City boss Tony Pulis admits he's disappointed to lose Mamady Sidibe.

The striker suffered a knee-ligament injury during the warm-up for last week's reserve match against Aston Villa and will now undergo surgery.

"Yeah we are disappointed," Pulis told Sky Sports News. "It is a massive miss for us because he is pretty special for us whether he comes off bench or whether he starts games.

"He is handful and a lot people have found him very difficult to play against this year.

"He is a great kid, an honest lad and he just hasn't felt right. He knows his body better than anybody else and he has decided he would rather have the operation now and clear it up and get it moving as quickly as possible."