Ade Akinbiyi is right in the thick of the relegation battle.

He played for Albion, he plays for Stoke and he could just send the Seagulls down on Saturday by scoring against his current club!

Akinbiyi is on loan to Stoke from Crystal Palace. He was signed on transfer deadline day last month and the deal which took him to the Britannia Stadium unusually included permission for him to play in the match at Selhurst Park which could seal Albion's fate.

Akinbiyi is under treatment for a sore hamstring which sidelined him from Stoke's 1-0 win at Coventry on Monday.

The 28-year-old Londoner has already played a part in Albion's plight by scoring Stoke's clincher against Wimbledon last Saturday.

He is just relieved to be involved after fearing he would never kick a ball again.

Akinbiyi turned to the specialist who saved the career of Arsenal's French star Robert Pires to cure a knee injury restricting him to two starts this season for Palace.

"I've had a bad time with injuries," he said. "I had an operation and I was told there was a possibility I might not be able to play again, so just to be back is a massive bonus for me."

Akinbiyi scored four goals in seven games for Albion under Liam Brady on loan from Norwich during the 1994-95 season.

He went on to score goals galore for Gillingham, Bristol City and Wolves but had a nightmare at Leicester after ex-Albion manager Peter Taylor paid £5 million for him. Akinbiyi hit the target just 11 times in 58 Premiership outings for the Foxes before joining Palace for £2.4 million in February, 2001.

Now the Nigerian international has been reunited with Tony Pulis, his manager at Gillingham, and he is already a folk hero with the Stoke faithful.

"I've had a great reception from the supporters since I've been here and that's really helped me a lot," he said.