Sidibe targets October comeback

Sidibe scored four goals in 19 appearances for Stoke last season

Stoke City striker Mamady Sidibe is hopeful of being fully fit in October, after undergoing surgery on a cruciate knee ligament injury in the summer.

The Mali international was injured before a reserve team game at Aston Villa in March, and will definitely miss the start of the season.

"The specialist says everything is good and hopefully I'll be back in October," Sidibe told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's getting much better. Hopefully next week I'll be out there running."

Sidibe, 29, had travelled with the squad to Austria for their pre-season training camp in an effort to step up his fitness, but was forced to return home on Thursday after his wife gave birth to their second child.

Stoke are aiming to emulate a magnificent first season in the Premier League, and Sidibe, who scored four goals in 2008-09, believes the squad are good enough to do so.

"We finished 12th and that was a great achievement for us. People will expect the same and probably more from us.

"We have a good team, which the manager will add to, and we're confident we can do well next season."