ALAN ARCHIBALD is confident Ryan Stevenson will be fit for Partick Thistle’s Premiership opener as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

The striker was crocked during the Jags’ draw with Hamilton Accies just three weeks before the end of last season and has been out of action for several months.

Stevenson scored seven goals in his first campaign at Firhill and became an integral part of Archibald’s plans as his side clinched an eighth place finish in the Premiership.

Thistle kick-off the new campaign with a return to New Douglas Park on August 1 and Archibald is keen to get Stevenson up to speed this summer.

He said: “We thought he was going to be back for pre-season but there was a bit more damage to his knee. He has been running and we will just manage him as best we can.

“Hopefully we will get him fit for the first game of the season. You want everybody to be as fit as they can for that first game and he proved to be a big player for us last year.

“We know how important he is for us and he is a big personality about the dressing room as well. We want to get him fit.

“There is nothing more frustrating for a player when you come back for pre-season and see everyone else doing it and you just want to get it done. You would rather get it done and get up to speed.

“He worked really hard to get himself in really good shape last season and he played a key part in the good run we were on. A lot of that was down to his fitness and his quality.

“It is frustrating for Ryan because he would only have had to keep himself ticking over and he would have been ready for pre-season. To get an injury like that in what turned out to be a meaningless game is really frustrating.”