Head coach Liam Manning has confirmed that Papa Amadou Diallo is set to be out for a 'few months' after sustaining a quad injury in the defeat to Wrexham.
The Senegalese winger was replaced early in the second half of the 3-2 defeat and will now face a surgical procedure before beginning his rehabilitation process.
"Not good news, bad injury to his quad so he's going to be out for a few months. It's very disappointing, it will be (surgery)," Manning explained.
"It wasn't a loading issue, we have to look at what we deliver and why. He's new to the league, there was no flags, no issues with it.
"He had settled into life here and shown some really exciting moments. It's an opportunity now to increase his work off the pitch and his English. He'll come back better for it. It's going to be a considerable amount of time. We're talking three or four months."
Manning also outlined that captain Kenny McLean is day-to-day in his process of returning from a back injury that ruled him out of the Wrexham defeat.
"Kenny's progressing, he's getting better. He's experienced and knows his body well. We'll have to see how he responds but there is a possibility for this weekend.
"He's not done much this week, we've tried to let it settle, the treatment and medication. It's a daily thing to have a chat with him about how he feels before trying to integrate him."
On that defeat against Wrexham, the club's fourth consecutive home loss, Manning was candid in his assessment.
He called upon his squad to respond against Stoke City, while highlighting the 'honest' discussions that have been held this week in the aftermath of the Wrexham loss.
"I'm not going to sit here and come up with reasons. We know we need to be better, it's a great group of lads. We see them every day and how they apply themselves in training. We have to own it, we can't hide. There's no excuse, no finger-pointing, we have to look in-house. The response in training has been excellent," he added.
"The players were really honest. I've been here before, I understand there'll be bumps along the way, challenging moments. We'll gel together on these moments and come out the other side stronger.
"We've got a long way to go to get to where we want to as a group. There has to be elements to show that you're progressing and getting better - that's the bit that was so disappointing at the weekend. I don't want to move on from Saturday, I want to learn from it. We need to leave everything on the pitch and have no regrets in what we do this Saturday."
Former Canary Mark Robins is now in charge at the bet365 Stadium and the Potters have started with four wins and two defeats from their opening six games.
After a difficult finish to last season when Robins replaced Narcís Pèlach, Stoke will be be hoping to continue that run.
"Played them quite early on when Mark joined there last season, they had a similar tough period. But that's who mark is, he stayed level and game and now they're in a decent spot. We should be desperate to pull the shirt on and correct last weekend, deliver a really strong performance.
"It's incredible what he did at Coventry. Not just on the pitch but some of the stuff he dealt with off the pitch. I don't need to sit here and talk about how good a career he has had, everyone can see that. He's someone I have a great deal of respect for."