SUNDERLAND winger Matt Piper last night revealed that Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy have provided the inspiration for his successful battle against injury.

Piper delivered the cross for Darren Byfield's crucial equaliser against Stoke on Tuesday night after coming off the bench to make his second substitute appearance since suffering a potentially career-threatening knee injury in August.

The former Leicester midfielder spent five months on the sidelines after two separate operations were needed to clear up a major cartilage problem.

Piper had already missed three months of last season after suffering a hernia injury just 12 weeks after moving to the Stadium of Light.

The 22-year-old has been through some difficult times over the last two years but, during his darkest hours, he didn't have too far to look for solace.

Newcastle's twin strikers have both overcome career-threatening knee injuries themselves during their time on Tyneside, with Shearer undergoing two operations to cure his tendonitis and Bellamy already having gone under the surgeon's knife six times.

The pair have bounced back to share 27 goals this season and Piper is confident his recovery will prove equally as successful.

"You look at Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy at Newcastle and they've both had a lot of trouble with their knees," said Piper.

"I look at those players and think 'They've done it, so why can't I'.

"There are a lot of players around who have had serious knee injuries and, when you look at their situation, it's not too dissimilar to mine."

Piper was well on the road to recovery when he was told he would need a second operation to cure his knee problems towards the end of last year.

Going into hospital for a second time was particularly difficult but, though he admits to having been thoroughly disheartened by the setback, Piper was always confident he would return to action.

"I never thought it was going to be the end of my career," he said. "But I had to have the second operation around Christmas time and, even though the surgeon said you're only eight to ten weeks away, I was really down.

"It gets you down because it's a second operation and you wonder when it's all going to end.

"But six or seven weeks into that the knee felt really good so I told the gaffer I was hoping to get back for the last ten or so games.

"As it is, I've actually got back a bit before that, but it's been one thing after another and I'm just hoping this knee injury is the last one."

Black Cats boss Mick McCarthy has already pledged to take a softly-softly approach with Piper between now and the end of the season.

The winger accepts that he will be used sparingly until his knee is deemed strong enough to stand up to the physical rigours of a full 90 minutes.

But, while he is happy to make his contributions from the bench for the time being, he is hoping to make a more lasting impact in the big games Sunderland have to look forward to in the next two months.

"The FA Cup semi-final is coming along at a nice time and, from that point of view, I've got fit at the right time," said Piper.

"I'm just hoping to be involved in some way.

"For the first few weeks the physio and I planned that I would come off the bench to get back into the swing of things.

"Six months out is a long time, but I'd love to be in the starting XI for the last six or seven games of the season

"Tuesday's draw was a bit of a setback, but I think we still need to be aiming for automatic promotion. If we don't get there then we'll take the play-offs and hopefully do well in those.