Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies made a surprise appearance in yesterday's friendly against Notts County.
The former West Brom captain had been expected to be out until October after suffering an Achilles injury against Arsenal on March 1.
But he managed an hour against County and reported no ill-effects.
"I feel great," he said. "It was a good game to get 60 minutes in. I felt I could have played the full 90 but I'll take it slowly, one day at a time and see how I come through it.
"I've been looking at the new shirt for ages and just waiting to pull it on, so it was good to be back out there - albeit in a behind-closed-doors game.
"I felt comfortable and I didn't hold back. Hopefully now I'll get another game soon and I can start to put a bit of pressure on Martin (Laursen) and Zat (Knight)."
