Stephen Ireland is ready to fight for his place at Stoke City.
A rib injury saw the 28-year-old sidelined for three weeks, miss five matches and hand other players a chance to grab his starting place.
He said: "The rib's good. I'm pretty much fully recovered now so I'm just trying to get myself back in the team now.
"It's been frustrating because I had a great pre-season and I was really excited going into the season.
"I've had a three-week set-back which isn't good, especially for a player like me who thrive off playing week in, week out.
"I just have to get myself back because it's a long old season."
