Marcus Fraser has been a frustrated onlooker for the last two months as Ross County climbed to the top of the Championship pile.
After suffering a small fracture to his fibula, skipper Fraser was sidelined as the Staggies put together a 10-game unbeaten run that saw them record heavy victories over Dundee United and Morton.
The former Celtic youngster was on the bench against Falkirk on Tuesday night and is fit to be called upon should he be required for this afternoon’s Highland derby.
Callum Morris, Liam Fontaine, Keith Watson and Ross Draper have all deputised in the centre of defence since Fraser’s absence and even though the team has been winning, it has still been hard for him to sit on the sidelines and watch.
Fraser said: “I’m fit and raring to go. The last two weeks to 10 days is the best I’ve felt since the injury happened. I feel good and back to normal. I’ve had the best part of two weeks training under my belt and the managers are big on showing how fit you are in training. I feel I’ve done that.
“The first x-ray they did, nothing really came up. The surgeon said that’s not unusual but when I saw a specialist, there was a wee fracture on the outside of my fibula. That’s why I was getting a bit of discomfort when I was training. I worked hard with the physio, Kevin Bain, and I’m just happy to be back training.
“I have been wishing I was out there but the boys have been brilliant. I said after the Ayr game, the first half especially was the best I’d seen us play in a long time. The second half performance might have been different but we still hung in there.
“The boys have done really well over the last eight to 10 weeks to keep the run going. On Tuesday night again, it was a difficult game and Falkirk made it tough for us. Although we didn’t play our best, we hung in there and Iain got a great goal at the end.”
Fraser has a good record over the Kessock Bridge, having won and drawn there during the 2016-17 campaign and also winning in the League Cup three years ago, en-route to claiming the trophy.
He added: “They’re solid – you can see from their results they don’t get beat often. They’re tough to beat and that’s a good mentality. Of course, they’d maybe be saying they need to win more games and I think come the end of the season, they’ll be there or there abouts. They’re a good side.
“I’ve been fortunate to always have good games through there. We’ve had a lot of positive results and hopefully that can continue. We’ll bring a good support through and they’ll make a bit of noise. Hopefully we can put a performance on for them.”
