Fraser Bryden insists he's ready to put six months of injury hell behind him at Somerset Park.
The teen striker has been sidelined with a knee injury which threatened to derail his stratospheric rise to the Ayr United first team.
But now the 18-year-old is back to full fitness and pledging to put the pain of the first half of the season behind him.
He said: "It's been tough but the injury was something I couldn't dwell on.
"Once I was back on the training pitch, all I could do was work hard towards a return and thankfully I'm there now.
"The worst part was at the start when all the boys would be leaving for training and I'd be left at Somerset myself.
"Back then I couldn't even do gym work as I couldn't bend my knee properly. So that period was hard.
"But once I got movement back and was able to get in the gym, things improved and it's been all about the recovery from there.
"Now I'm feeling good and have been getting sharp in the reserve games and I'm raring to go."
Bryden was initially expected to be out for eight weeks but his recovery to full fitness has taken longer than expected.
And with Ayr riding high at the top of the Championship, Bryden's opportunities for a fast track return have been limited.
But two goals in last night's 4-2 friendly win over Bonnyton Thistle have put Bryden firmly back in the mix as Ayr prepare to welcome Arbroath to Somerset this Saturday.
Boss Lee Bullen added: "When you've taken an injury like Fraser did, it often takes far more than a few weeks' training under your belt to get back up to speed.
"I think now, for the first time, we're starting to see Fraser back at the levels where he was in pre-season.
"He's been frustrated at the time it's taken to get there but it's a big, big bonus for us all to have him back now.
"He knows he has good competition with Dipo, Sam and Mark in and around there, but Fraser is very much back in the picture for us now and that's great."
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