Stoke City are considering handing captain Ryan Shawcross as a show of good faith to his loyalty to the club, reports The Stoke Sentinel.
Shawcross, 28, missed a large section of the season following back surgery and was also sidelined with other injuries, which limited him to just 20 appearances in the league.
The former Manchester United defender still has more than two years remaining on his current deal but Stoke are prepared to reward their captain with a contract extension as a show of appreciation.
“Ryan’s had a difficult season,” chief executive Tony Scholes told the Stoke Sentinel. “But it was fantastic to see in the second half of the game against West Ham, Ryan staring to show he’s getting back to where he was at.
“He was incredibly unlucky with injuries last year and that affect the team as well. We are not the same team without Ryan in there, so we all hope Ryan has a good pre-season for his sake as well as the club’s, and manages to avoid injury going forward.
Despite Scholes’ comments, Stoke actually fared better in the league without Shawcross at the back. They won 38.9% of the matches he missed compared a 35% win ratio with their captain starting.
For more stats on Ryan Shawcross, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
