After signing his contract extension, Higginbotham stated that he wanted to end his career at Stoke. He scored a rare league goal in January 2011 against Bolton Wanderers. He scored the first FA Cup goal of his career in a quarter-final win against West Ham United in March 2011. It proved to be the winning goal, thus earning Stoke their first semi-final appearance in 39 years. He scored an identical goal against Newcastle United the following week. However, in the next league match against Chelsea, Higginbotham sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury that ruled him out for six months. Pulis spoke of his disappointment at losing Higginbotham but also stressed he would play a key role in the final few matches of the season due to his influence in the dressing room. Higginbotham later admitted that missing the FA Cup final made him "jealous" of his teammates.