Geoff Cameron
Mark Hughes is unsure if Geoff Cameron will be available for Stoke's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool Getty

Mark Hughes has been handed a key selection boost ahead of Stoke's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool on Tuesday 5 January, with defender Geoff Cameron now available for the visit of Jurgen Klopp's side.

The United States international was initially suspended after receiving a straight red card from referee Lee Mason following an altercation with Claudio Yacob during the 82nd minute of a 2-1 defeat at West Brom on 2 January.

The sending off, which occurred when Cameron appeared to aim a left-handed push to the back of Yacob's head after a late bump from the midfielder, came shortly after substitute Jonathan Walters looked to have earned the visitors a point by cancelling out Stephane Sessegnon's second-half opener. Reduced to 10 men, Stoke went on to lose the contest courtesy of a scrambled stoppage-time winner from Jonny Evans.

The Potters subsequently revealed their intention to appeal against the three-match suspension and although Hughes has almost a fully-fit squad to choose from for the visit of Liverpool, he admitted that the uncertainty over Cameron's availability was occupying his thoughts.

"We have a clean bill of health," he was quoted as saying by the club's official Twitter account at a pre-match press conference. "Everyone bar Shay Given is available for this game."

On Cameron, who has made 23 appearances for Stoke so far this term, he added: "We will have an indication by this evening whether we will have Geoff Cameron available. It hinders my thinking for now."

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The Football Association (FA) have now outlined the result of Cameron's appeal for wrongful dismissal, confirming that the former Houston Dynamo man has had his ban withdrawn with immediate effect. A short statement from the governing body states that Mason made an "obvious error" in dismissing him for violent conduct and the 30-year-old will also be able to play in subsequent fixtures against Doncaster and Norwich.

Another crucial point addressed by Hughes in the build-up to the cup tie concerned the future of Bojan. The former Barcelona stalwart has impressed of late as part of a fluid attacking line-up with Marko Arnautovic, Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri, but rumours over a possible departure from the Britannia Stadium began circulating over the weekend as reports suggested that his current contract contains a buy-out clause of just £10m ($14.6m).

Hughes quickly dimissed the notion of any such clause, however. He said: "There's a lot of speculation on Bojan. There's a lot of misinformation about and there is no clause in his contract. I take transfer speculation with a pinch of salt. I don't know where the stories come from and a lot come with no substance."