Just in case there was any doubt… Ibrahim Afellay seems a long way from full fitness.
Five weeks ago Stoke City’s manager Mark Hughes said Afellay would be out for four or five weeks, and he wasn’t sure if the Dutchman would play again this season.
If Mundo Deportivo are right, and their photographs current, then there’s absolutely zero chance of that, and there wouldn’t be even if the season had several weeks to run.
Mundo Deportivo say Afellay’s knee surgery saw him say ‘goodbye to his season’. The player has been receiving treatment in Barcelona, which is where he’s in rehabilitation.
After a chat and some pictures with Afellay, Mundo Deportivo got the usual kind words about his time at Barcelona, and reported the Stoke player had been enjoying lunch near 
the hospital with some other people going through rehabilitation.
Most strikingly, Afellay is pictured on crutches, and is quoted as saying: “I’m in the best hands, I have to be patient and I hope I can reach the next preseason.”
