A CRUCIATE knee ligament injury cruelly robbed the experienced defender of the chance to feature in Stoke City's Wembley appearances in the FA Cup . . . after his heroics had helped to get them there.

It was his powerfully struck free kick which secured the Potters their FA Cup quarter final triumph over West Ham United at the Britannia Stadium in March 2011 to earn them their first semi final for almost 40 years.

But his luck changed early in the following month when an innocuous challenge in the Premier League match against Chelsea left him nursing the serious knee problem and facing up to a long road to recovery.

The former Manchester United player returned to action in October when he played and scored during in the reserves' 1-0 win over Sheffield United, and will be hoping to re-establish himself as a key member of the squad, operating either as a central defender or at left back.

He is one of a number of players at the Britannia Stadium who were formerly with Sunderland and he is also another member of the squad who is now in his second spell at the Club after a short stay in the North East.

After emerging through the youth programme at Old Trafford, he had successful spells with Derby County and Southampton before moving to the Potters for his initial spell in the 2006-07 season.

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