Stoke midfielder has to be 100% ready says boss

Jamie Ness has returned to training with Crewe Alexandra after having his hamstring injury assessed by his parent club Stoke City. Ness was forced off against Swindon Town with the muscle injury and returned to the Potters last week for assessment.

The midfielder could now be in contention for a recall to the Crewe squad for this weekend’s derby encounter with Port Vale. The former Glasgow Rangers player will have to come through training this week to place himself in contention though.

Steve Davis explained to the club’s official web-site: “Jamie is fit and Stoke were happy with him and he has come back to us.

“He trained yesterday and did everything apart from the shooting practices. He felt a bit of discomfort in his left quad and it played on his mind a bit. He sat that out as a precaution and we will continue to assess him this week.

“His hamstring is fine. It has healed but he is not quite there yet. If he is ready to start on Saturday remains unclear at this stage.

The boss added: “We have a hard endurance day today, so we will see how he does.”