The defender had joined the Championship promotion hopefuls in March, having not played a first-team game for Boro since November.

However, he was recalled by manager Gareth Southgate for Saturday's Premier League game against Portsmouth, and marked his return with the opening goal in the 2-0 home win.

Riggott had been preparing for Stoke's game with Leicester City on Sunday and was not expecting to be summoned back to the Riverside.

Bit gutted

"It's been different!" Riggott told the club's official website. "I wasn't expecting it, put it that way. It just shows that anything can happen in football.

"I got a call on Thursday night and, at first, was a bit gutted to think I would miss out on Stoke's big match.

"It took me a few minutes to get my head around the fact that I wasn't going to play in the big game for Stoke, but that's all it took. I am contracted to Boro, they pay my wages and they've always been good to me.

"As for what happens next and whether I've got a future at Boro, we'll see what happens in the summer."

Boro boss Southgate also acknowledged that Riggott could have a role to play at the club next season.

Southgate said: "There is no way I am going to force him out of the door.

"I'll sit down and discuss it with him. He is a quality centre-half and he can play at this level.

"It has been difficult for me because I played with Chris and maybe I have to look at whether I dealt with it properly. He was frustrated and I let him go on loan."