http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/story-13520332-detail/story.html? DANNY Higginbotham is poised to make his return from six months of injury woe. The 32-year-old defender has resumed full training and could even feature in tomorrow's reserve game against Sheffield United at Clayton Wood (2pm). Higginbotham, pictured below, has been out of action since April 2 when he ruptured cruciate knee ligaments during the 1-1 home draw with Chelsea. That meant the former Stoke captain was forced to miss the 5-0 Wembley FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton and the club's first FA Cup final, when they lost 1-0 to Manchester City in May. Stoke boss Tony Pulis says Higginbotham remains a major part of his plans, having included him in City's 25-man Premier League squad. Pulis also confirmed that striker Ricardo Fuller could be back in action by the end of the month as he recovers from the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered at Aston Villa on April 23. Pulis said: "Ric is doing really well, but is perhaps a couple of weeks behind Danny. "But Danny is back in full training and that has given everyone here a massive boost. "Having let Danny Pugh and Danny Collins go on loan, we have put our faith in Danny to be part of the squad. "He has been a great player for this football club and we are really pleased to get him back." Higginbotham's progress is a further boost for Stoke, who also expect to have Kenwyne Jones available for Saturday's Premier League game with Fulham at the Britannia Stadium. City's three-goal joint-top scorer has been out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Pulis has praised Robert Huth's attitude since the German lost his place in City's Premier League starting line-up for their last two games, against Manchester United and Swansea. The Stoke boss says he wouldn't have expected last season's player of the year to be happy about a place on the bench, but said he was rotating his defenders as City deal with the demands of the Premier and Europa Leagues, and the Carling Cup. Pulis also has Ryan Shawcross, Matthew Upson and Jonathan Woodgate to choose from among his strong central defensive resources. He said: "Huthy will play loads of games this season. He's been very professional about it."
Hopefully this means Huthy can revert to centre back at the expense of Woodgate, or Shawcross if he makes any more silly mistakes.
http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10310~2478888,00.html? DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM made a triumphant return to action following his six-month injury lay-off by firing home the winner in Tuesday's reserve team clash against Sheffield United but then warned there is still a long way to go in his rehabilitation. The 32-year-old defender hasn't featured for the first team since heartbreakingly rupturing a knee ligament in the countdown to the Club's first ever visit to the new Wembley Stadium last April in the Premier League clash against Chelsea. However, he took a major step to reacquainting himself with first team duties on Tuesday by featuring in 45 minutes of the second string's 1-0 Central League victory against the Blades at the Clayton Wood Training Ground. "It's been a long old time to be out of action, but all the hard work has been worth it just by being out there on the pitch today," he revealed to Stoke City Player. "It was a nice bonus to score the winning goal, but the main thing for me was just to get through those 45 minutes without feeling any affects of the injury. "Touch wood everything feels okay at the moment, and hopefully that will be the same tomorrow. I was just so desperate to get out there, and I won't lie I was a little nervous before the game, but everything went well and it's a big step for me. "There is still a long way to go though because it's going to be important to manage it in the right way now, which I am sure I will do with the fantastic medical staff behind me here. "There isn't a timeline on when I will be back in the first team, but I am just looking forward now and working towards making my return."
