Stoke City could be missing six players for Derby County final day showdown

Ben Pearson will be assessed for Stoke City's final day trip to Derby County after limping out of the penultimate game of the season.

Pearson stayed in the dug out to watch from the sidelines after picking up an injury attempting a first-half challenge against Sheffield United on Friday night. The 30-year-old, who was booked in the process, got up to play on for a while after physio treatment but soon made way for Bosun Lawal as Mark Robins shuffled his midfield pack.

He has made 14 appearances since returning from a hamstring injury which had kept him sidelined for a year and has helped Stoke keep their Championship fate in their own hands.

Robins admitted on Friday night: "It's always a blow (when you lose a player early) but when you look at it tactically, we were getting it wrong tactically.

"At times when they're kicking it long and they've got a big man behind you, you can't just commit to going forward. You've got to read it, you've got to read when he's going to kick it long. You can see by his actions he's going to kick it long so you've got to make sure... We got it wrong and Pearo was guilty of that early doors.

"It's just a little facet into our decision making and understanding of the game throughout the team and we get things slightly wrong. By the way, we're not on our own in that, it's the Championship."

Five other players were missing for the Sheffield United game due to injury and are unlikely to be available again next weekend.

Jordan Thompson and Eric Bocat have missed the last two matches after going down in the Good Friday win over Sheffield Wednesday, Sol Sidibe has been missing since a back injury was diagnosed in early January, Enda Stevens hasn't played since he was subbed off as a sub in a win over Blackburn in mid-March and that was also the final outing for his replacement that night, Michael Rose.

Other senior players who were not involved against Sheffield United include Andre Vidigal, Ryan Mmaee and Emre Tezgel.

Will the Rams stay in the Championship? Tell us HERE

Get the latest Derby County news sent straight to your phone

Join our Derby County WhatsApp group to get the latest Rams headlines sent straight to your phone. Joining is easy – just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started.

No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Rams writers. We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Rams news.

If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group', simple as that! Remember, to join our Whatsapp group just click this link. We also send community members special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.