Stoke City striker Mamady Sidibe will be on the sidelines for six months after opting for knee surgery.

The operation on his cruciate ligament could wait until the summer but the Mali striker, who missed three months of the season after damaging the knee in December, will have surgery that will keep him sidelined for six months.

Manager Tony Pulis said: "Mama feels there is a weakness in the knee joint that he's obviously not happy with.

"He hasn't felt fully right in the games he's played since coming back from his last injury to the knee. That will trouble him because he always wants to give you 100 per cent."