Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has confirmed that the defender Robert Huth could be a surprise starter for the match against Reading on the opening day of the new Premier league season. Stoke City will be kicking off the new campaign with a match against the newly promoted Reading, or the Spurs and QPR fixtures.

Tony Pulis said that only a few weeks ago that it is extremely doubtful whether Robert Huth would be part of the new season for Stoke city after being found with suspected meningitis. However, he has made a stunning recovery from the problem and is now looking all set to start against Reading.

This comes as a major boost for the manager, who will be looking to get the club back into the top 10 of the Premier league table. Stoke city slipped out of the top half of the table last season due to the European commitments. As a result of not qualifying for the Europa league this season, Stoke city will have more time to prepare for the Premier league matches, which will in turn help them boost the performance in the domestic league. Tony Pulis will be hoping to make Stoke city more successful in the future after they have reached finals of major competitions in the last few seasons.

“He’s all right – there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s his usual self. I’m surprised he went to hospital. He’s a great lad and he’s shown in the last three or four years that he’s a top player as well,” said the Stoke city player Dean Whitehead in response to the recovery made by Robert Huth. Even if Robert Huth does not make it into the squad, then Tony Pulis will have the alternative options like Matthew Upson and Ryan Shawcross. Stoke city are now likely to sell Ricardo Fuller before the end of the transfer window.