Stoke City of England midfielder, John Mikel Obi is relishing his return to action after a long time out with another injury and, though he got only 22 minutes under his boots during his first match back, the former Super Eagles’ captain admitted it was a big relief for him.
Megasportsarena.com gatheerd that Mikel admitted he truly cherished the moment, as he returned to Stoke’s matchday squad and played a part in their 1-1 draw with visiting Nottingham Forest in an English Championship clash at bet365 Stadium.
The encounter on Tuesday night accorded Mikel with the opportunity to dust himself off from a recent series of fitness issues and the veteran, who made the switch to Stoke in the summer, is happy that he was able to bounce back from the injury he copped during his side’s goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday on November 28.
That means Mikel spent at total of 31 days out nursing the injury, but the long wait eventually came to an end on Tuesday, when Stoke’s coach, Michael O’Neill sent him on as a replacement for Jordan Thompson with 22 minutes left on the clock.
Mikel’s side went in front in the 18th minute through a direct corner from Thompson but an own goal by James Chester in the 65th minute allowed Nottingham Forest leave with a share of the spoils.
Nonetheless, it was a heartwarming return for Mikel, whose side struggled in his absence, with only 12 points from a possible 21 and were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup but, while they are undefeated in their last five games, The Potters are seventh on the log with 35 points ahead of their trip to Bournemouth for their first match of 2021 on Saturday.
