Former England striker and Stoke City player Peter Crouch is set to return for Saturdays game against Aston Villa with a mouth guard fitted to protect his damaged teeth and gums; the 31-year-old was involved in a collision with Newcastle player Fabricio Coloccini during last week’s Premier League match between Stoke City and Newcastle United. The two players collided and Coloccini’s elbow caught Crouch in the face, knocking out two of his front teeth and pushing two others into the gums, leading to the player leaving the field with a bloody mouth.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis said that the 6ft 7in striker was keen to get back into the game after the accident but was deemed unfit to play against West Bromwich Albion last Saturday, although Stoke managed a fourth win in five games even without Crouch playing. Tony joked that Crouch was desperate to ‘sink his teeth into them’ despite his injuries.
Peter is attending a dental appointment on Wednesday to have a mouth guard fitted and should be fit to return to training on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s game against Aston Villa. It is not clear whether further work will be done to repair the damage after the game but it is likely that some treatment will need to be undertaken after the teeth were knocked out of their sockets.