Pulis set to bench Owen again

Tony Pulis says Michael Owen may have to settle for a place on the bench when Stoke City host Swansea City on Saturday.

Owen has made two substitute appearances so far for Stoke and manager Pulis is keen to ensure the 32-year-old is not rushed back into action.

The former Manchester United and Liverpool striker has suffered from regular injury problems throughout his career and Pulis will not risk sidelining him by adding him to the starting line-up before he is ready.

“Michael has been fantastic since he walked through the door here, and he looked fit and sharp when he came on at Chelsea,” Pulis told reporters.

“It’s a long, tough season though, and there is no way we will be rushing him into things quickly which could put him at risk of picking up an injury.

“We will bide our time with him and ease him into things, as we have done, but when he is in the team, we are confident that he can score goals for us.”

Pulis announced he had no injury worries ahead of Swansea’s visit to the Britannia Stadium.

The 54-year-old confirmed Charlie Adam had recovered from the illness which prematurely ended the midfielder’s game against Chelsea.

“Charlie wasn’t feeling too well last weekend and he came over to me at half-time and said he didn’t feel quite right,” Pulis said.

“We took him off after a while as a precaution really, but he has had a good week of training, so he will be fine for Saturday.”