Stoke will give defender Phil Bardsley time to grieve his grandfather

26 October 2016 22:39

Stoke will give Phil Bardsley as much time away from the club as he needs following the death of his grandfather.

John Albert Lancaster, 77, was killed in a car accident in Greater Manchester on Tuesday.

Potters boss Mark Hughes said: "We'll give him all the time he needs. Clearly Tuesday was a big shock. It was terrible for him and his family. We're allowing him time.

"We're not going to try and influence that, we'd never do that. Phil will come back into the fold, we'll embrace him and give him the support he needs, but it needs to be his decision when he's ready to come back."

Hughes has not yet spoken to Bardsley and does not know whether or not he is likely to be available for Stoke's next Premier League game against Swansea on Monday.

The former Manchester United right-back has been enjoying a run in the team with Glen Johnson ruled out by a thigh problem.

Hughes said: "We've left him to be with his family, it's clearly still very close to the sad incident.

"But we'll be in touch over the next few days to get a gauge on how he's feeling, we'll know more.

"When you have these situations, everybody reacts in a different way, so we'll leave it up to him and his family."

Source: PA