Soccer:Stoke boss Tony Pulis is eager to get Marc Wilson back into first-team action. Wilson suffered a broken leg against Sunderland in October but made his comeback with a 75-minute outing in Tuesday's behind-closed-doors friendly against Northampton.

The 25-year-old Republic of Ireland international told Stoke’s official website after the game that he could be back “within a few weeks” if all goes well. Asked today when he thought he would have Wilson back in the first team, Pulis said: “I’m not sure — as quick as we possibly can.

“I rate him as one of the best players at this football club and a very, very good Premier League player. We need him back.”

Pulis described his squad as “unbalanced” despite his best efforts in the January transfer window, and admitted Wilson’s contribution on the left side has been missed.

“The balance of the team and squad has not been right,” said Pulis. “We have tried ever so hard to correct that in the summer and in the last window, but not been able to do it for all sorts of reasons — there is no one to blame.

“It has left us a little bit unbalanced, so to get Marc back in will be a real bonus for us. He has trained for the last month or so, but we have been careful with him in lots of respects.

“He needs games and he needs a little bit more training.”