Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham is delighted to be back in action.

Higginbotham marked his return from seven months out with a cruciate ligament injury by playing the full game at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

He said: "I was obviously disappointed not to keep a clean sheet at the end there, but I was really happy to get through the 90 minutes and to get the win.

"There's a little bit of stiffness but that's par for the course and otherwise I feel fine.

"Yes, it's been a very frustrating seven months, but hopefully that's all over now after a lot of hard work and a lot of help from those around me."