Ryan Shawcross is ready to make his return from a six week injury lay-off in time to face his old manager Tony Pulis . The Stoke captain has been out since aggravating a back injury during the 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers in January but could start against West Bromwich Albion . Shawcross has come through his first full week of training since suffering the problem and is a welcome boost for boss Mark Hughes as he targets a fourth straight Premier League victory . Stoke are set to have captain Ryan Shawcross ( centre ) back for their trip to West Brom on Saturday . Shawcross has n't played since January after aggravating a back injury in their 3-1 home win over QPR . The Stoke captain ( left ) winces as he attended to by the club medic hurting his back . Speaking on Friday morning Hughes said : 'Ryan has joined in with the rest of the group for the best part of the week and he has come through it okay . 'Obviously there is still another session in front of us , and as long as he suffers no affects from that then he will certainly be in my thoughts . 'We have a doubt over Philipp Wollscheid anyway so having Ryan available could help us in that regard . We lost him early on in the last game against Everton and Geoff Cameron came on and performed superbly well . 'Whether Ryan or Philipp is available I still have good options available to me , so I aren ’ t too worried about it. ’ Shawcross ( left ) could come in for Philipp Wollscheid who is a doubt for the trip to West Brom .
Ryan Shawcross aggravated his back in Stoke 's win over QPR in Saturday . Stoke centre back has been out of action for six weeks since the injury . The Potters travel to West Brom in the Premier League on January .