Manager Dave Jones will assess the fitness of Jay Bothroyd on Tuesday
morning as Cardiff look to dump Stoke out of the FA Cup at the second
time of asking.
The influential striker, whose 15 goals this term led to a debut
England cap against France, has managed just three goalless appearances
since that mid-November friendly defeat at Wembley.
A hamstring injury sustained after just eight minutes of the npower
Championship draw against Preston on December 4 has kept Bothroyd
sidelined for a lot longer than initially expected.
But the 28-year-old could well find himself in Cardiff's matchday 18 in
the Welsh capital as the Bluebirds look to set up a fourth-round
meeting with either Wolves or Doncaster, who also meet in a third-round
replay on Tuesday night.
"Jay's been training for a few days now so we'll assess him
tomorrow morning (Tuesday) and then I'll pick my team once I know about
all the other little niggles we've got," said Jones.
Bothroyd spent one month on loan at the Britannia Stadium from then
employers Wolves in spring 2008, making a total of four appearances for
the Potters.
He missed the initial 1-1 FA Cup draw in Staffordshire earlier this
month - as did another ex-City striker, Jon Parkin, who was struggling
with a slight knee strain at the time following his January switch from
Preston.
But with 'The Beast' making a goalscoring debut for the Bluebirds in
Saturday's 1-1 draw at Norwich, both strikers could well come back to
haunt Stoke boss Tony Pulis.
With no major injury concerns, Jones' line-up is certain to be very
similar to that which ran Stoke close at the Britannia Stadium, with
Craig Bellamy likely rested again so as not to aggravate his
troublesome knee problems.
Meanwhile, Pulis has no doubts Stoke will secure a place in the
fourth round if his side stand firm in the face of an expected City
onslaught.
The City boss is naturally disappointed to be heading to the Welsh
capital for a third-round replay, believing his players should have
clinched a place in the last 32 nine days ago, only to be held to a 1-1
draw.
The additional road trip is far from welcome either as the visit to
Cardiff begins a run that sees them play five of the next six games
away from the Britannia Stadium.
That could become six from seven should Stoke win as they will travel
to either Wolves or Doncaster in the next round, all in the space of 36
days.
So it is a case of ploughing on and Pulis said: "I'm absolutely
gutted the result wasn't achieved in the first game for everyone's sake
because we have such a busy programme coming up again.
"It is crazy the way the fixtures have been drawn as we only have two games in March. It is ridiculous, but there we are."
Knowing his side only have themselves to blame for not finishing
off Cardiff on home soil, Pulis added: "I thought there was only one
team in the first game to be honest. I thought they did well in the
first half, then in the second half I felt it was just a matter of time
before we would pull away, but it wasn't to be.
"We hit the bar twice, had numerous other chances, and I cannot
really recall them causing us too many problems at all after they
scored early on. Now we face a tough game because I'm sure they will
put out a strong team, they will have the full backing of their
supporters and they will throw everything at us.
"That is what happens in the FA Cup. They will believe they have
done the hard work by taking us back to their place. It means we will
have to stand firm and play our normal game. If we do that I believe we
will get the result we want and secure ourselves a spot in the next
round."
Striker Ricardo Fuller comes back into contention after missing
Saturday's 2-0 win over Bolton due to a family bereavement.
Eidur Gudjohnsen remains doubtful with a neck injury, while fellow
forward Mamady Sidibe remains sidelined as he continues to recover from
an Achilles problem.
Source: DSG