Martin Laursen today hailed central defensive partner Curtis Davies for the way he returned from serious injury two months ahead of schedule.

And the Danish international believes Davies is now reaping the reward for a summer of hard toil at Bodymoor Heath.

Five-and-a-half months after rupturing his Achilles tendon at Arsenal, Davies returned to Barclays Premier League action for the 4-2 victory against Manchester City. He is likely to continue at Stoke City tomorrow.

Laursen told www.avfc.co.uk: "I'm really pleased for him. It must be a great satisfaction for him to have played the first game of the season. I'm sure he didn't think he could do that but he has worked so hard in the gym and he's done very well.

"It's hard to do rehab in the gym, I know that myself. But when you think of the satisfaction you get when you play these games then it makes you train hard in rehab.

"I'm sure Curtis thought about that when he trained so hard all summer. Knowing what a great feeling it would be to play again in the Premier League has been a great motivation for him."

Turning to tomorrow's game, Laursen insists Villa will not be underestimating newly promoted Stoke.

He added: "They lost their first game up at Bolton last weekend so they will be looking for a good start to the season at home. It will not be easy, we know that.

"But every game in this league is difficult. The approach of the game is everything. If we concentrate and pay them the respect they should have then we've got a good chance to do well. But we still need to really be focussed and full of concentration."

Tune into the latest Villa Podcast for more from Laursen.