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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."
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."
