Stoke City's U23 side fell to defeat against Middlesbrough yesterday but it was a great night for the club as Tyrese Campbell made his comeback.

The forward has been out since the end of last year after suffering a serious knee injury which had disrupted the great progress he had made after breaking into the Potters XI under Michael O'Neill.

Thankfully now though, Campbell is closing in on a return, as he featured for an hour against Boro's U23s. Taking to Instagram after the run-out, the 21-year-old took to Instagram, sharing his delight that he's 'up and running'.

That prompted plenty of responses from his teammates at the Bet365 Stadium, with Jacob Brown, Josh Tymon and Tashan Oakley-Boothe among the players to send a positive message to Campbell after the big moment in his recovery.

As well as that, former Stoke duo Thibaud Verlinden and Tom Edwards wished the attacker well.

It remains to be seen when O'Neill decides to put Campbell on the bench for the first-team, with the Potters set for a busy spell that will see them play six games in the next few weeks.

The verdict

Firstly, it's great to see Campbell back out on the pitch after what was a really bad injury and he deserves credit for the way he has battled to get back fit.

Of course, they can't rush him back and another outing for the U23s seems highly likely before he returns to O'Neill's side, with the boss maybe earmarking the League Cup tie against Watford as his potential return.

The responses to Campbell's message shows the players are delighted for him and he will certainly make a big contribution to the team when he is fully fit.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.