Blow for Stoke as Shawcross facing two month spell on the sidelines

"The harder Shawcross pushed himself in pre-season the more discomfort he found himself in, leaving no alternative but for him to undergo the operation.”

Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross is to undergo back surgery and will be out for at least two months, the club have announced.

The central defender is to have the operation next week having suffered a recurrence of the back problem that troubled him last season.