Stoke striker Vincent Pericard could not hide his delight following a goalscoring return to action on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old front man scored a late winner against Leicester reserves in his first competitive game since his release from prison.

He told the club's official website: "I am very, very pleased with how it went, I was really looking forward to the game.

"I had a few chances in the game and it was a relief for me to see it go in the back of the net."

The former Juventus player was jailed earlier this year for lying to police about a speeding offence, but after serving five weeks of a four-month sentence he is now hoping to get back into first team as soon as possible.

He said: "I will give my all in training, I will be in all this week because I want to get myself going again. The other lads are doing very well at the moment but it up to me to show that I deserve a place by training well and scoring goals when I get the chance."