The striker on loan from Manchester City is on a lengthy injury list at Stoke City after being stretchered off against Queens Park Rangers
16:02, 20 Jan 2026Updated 16:09, 20 Jan 2026
Divin Mubama receives treatment after suffering a nasty ankle injury at Stoke City against Queens Park Rangers.
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Divin Mubama receives treatment after suffering a nasty ankle injury for Stoke City against Queens Park Rangers.(Image: Zak Locke)
Divin Mubama is set for more medical assessment back at Manchester City this week after it was confirmed he had avoided a fractured leg or ankle.
The 21-year-old striker, on loan at Stoke City for the season, has suffered ligament damage after being caught in a bad tackle against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. It was initially feared he had broken a leg.
Mark Robins hopes he will get an update that the England under-21s forward will not be out for too long but, for the moment, he is on a long injury list at the bet365 Stadium, where Stoke host Middlesbrough (Wednesday, 8pm).
Robins said: “I’m still frustrated (about the QPR game) but there’s nothing we can do about it now unfortunately and you’ve got to move on. After the game is finished you reflect and we could and should have won the game. We had things that didn’t go our way in terms of tackles against us. Obviously Divin has come out on the wrong end of a challenge. We have got to move on but it was still disappointing, still frustrating. Even more so it’s compounded because of the nature of the injuries we’ve picked up.
“I spoke after the game and alluded that he’d got a fracture. Thankfully that’s not the case, he’s got ligament damage. He’s got consultation this week and he’s gone back to Manchester City for that period of time. Hopefully we get some decent news and he won’t be too long out.”
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Left-back Aaron Cresswell could return to the squad against Middlesbrough but Viktor Johansson, Junior Tchamadeu, Ben Gibson, Lewis Baker, Sam Gallagher, Robert Bozenik, Nathan Lowe, Emre Tezgel and Mubama are out and Steven Nzonzi has been recovering from illness.
Robins said: “I think this is a period when we’ve got to work with the players we have available and put them in the best position to perform. Nothing changes on that front.
“It is difficult. Three -game weeks are difficult anyway and we’re going to have to navigate it as well as we possibly can do and look forward to the game against Middlesbrough and try to really go for it.
“Naturally you close ranks. We’ve got a really good group. We’ve still got good players available and we will endeavour to make a really good show against Boro.”
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Stoke had maintained high availability rates through the first half of the season, having made a concerted effort to address injury problems which had haunted the club in recent seasons.
But seven of the current injuries have been sustained in in-game challenges inside a month, an incredibly rare turn of events.
“There’s no doubt we’ve had bad luck,” said Robins. “It is bad luck, it’s not through bad planning. But supporters are right behind us and that’s all you can ask for. In return, what they expect from us is what we’ll deliver. We’ll deliver a really strong performance.
“I expect a tough game against Middlesbrough. They’ve got good players, a new manager has come in since the last time we played them and he’s picked up a good amount of results. They haven’t been unbeatable but they’ve been strong. They’re adding to the squad all the time and they’ve got talented players in their ranks and that shows with the results they’ve had and maintaining that top two position when we’ve fallen away.
“They are good, they’re set up really well both in and out of possession. I expect a really tough game and hopefully we can give them a tough game too.”
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