Big Mama Back in the House Soon

Mamady Sidibe; the man that every Stoke fan has a soft spot for somewhere in their red and white blood pumping hearts, is set to make a comeback in the reserves on Wednesday after over a year on the sidelines.

If you remember back in August 2010, Sidibe snapped his Achilles tendon in the Potters' Premier League clash with Tottenham, and suffered the exact same injury again in training the following February.

But with grit, determination, and a gruelling rehabilitation program from the physioterrorists, he will be given the green light to be in the starting line up for Stoke`s 'B` team when they go up against the second string of Nottingham Forest.

Tony Pulis showed his faith in the Malian striker when he included him in his 25-man league squad for this season, which surely must have been a boost for the 31-year-old. Pulis told The Sentinel: 'It will be fantastic to see him back playing again after everything he's been through.

"We've obviously kept a close eye on his progress and not rushed anything.

"He's such a lovely lad and certainly hasn't deserved what's happened to him with these injuries.

"He's due some good luck at long last and we are all keeping our fingers crossed it starts from tomorrow.'

Sidibe proved to be the ultimate playmaker for Stoke when partnered with Ricardo Fuller up front during the Championship years and early Premier League campaigns. For his hard work and passion, he is appreciated by every fan, and will also be recognised as an influential player that was a part of the promotion team in 2008. The questions that are poised now however are; will he ever be the same player again, and will he be able to match the quality of strikers we have now? I`m not so sure on either.

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