Sidibe ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Potters' first home of the season against Tottenham back in August and was told at the time that he may miss the entire campaign. However, the Mali striker has made a remarkable recovery and hopes to be back in first-team contention within weeks. "I am feeling fantastic," he told Stoke's official website. "I've started running, doing a bit of work with the lads and it's just so nice to be out there with them all again. "Hopefully, I can keep getting stronger and look to try and get back in the squad before the end of the month. That is my target." Sidibe has endured a torrid time with injuries in the past couple of seasons and the 31-year-old admits that he thought his latest blow could end his career. "When it happened I really thought my season, or maybe even my career was over. It was horrible, especially after all the other injuries I have had over the last couple of years. "All I could do was keep believing and look at how I have come back from these sort of things before. The rehabilitation was very important for me, and luckily it has all gone to plan for me so far." So well in fact that Sidibe has already been promised a place in Tony Pulis' 25-man squad when he is asked to rename it at the end of the month. "I was so happy to hear that," Sidibe said of Pulis' vow. "The manager has shown loyalty to me over the years and has played a big part in my career, so I really don't want to let him down. "I know how much hard work is in front of me though because we have great players here now. Kenwyne Jones, Ricardo Fuller, Tuncay and Eidur Gudjohnsen are as good as this club has had for a long time so it will be incredibly tough to get back into the first team."
