Gary Fraser admits he feared the worst when a training ground challenge saw him injure his ankle again.

The Partick Thistle midfielder had previously been side-lined for a lengthy spell with an injury to his right ankle, and he missed out on the Jags’ triumph over Ross County at the weekend after this latest setback.

Thankfully though, the injury this time wasn’t as serious as was first feared, meaning he should be back for the Boxing Day clash against St Johnstone at Firhill.

He said: “It was hard when it happened because I was back in the team, scored a goal and felt like I was getting back to full fitness, so to get an injury again wasn’t great.

“It was the same ankle that I was injured with before and straight away I said ‘oh no, not again.’

“Initially you have the thought going through your mind that you’re back to square one again and I thought I might have to do another pre-season, but thankfully it turned out to be not quite as bad.

“When it happened at first it was a really sore one, but when I saw the physio after training and they realised it was only badly swollen then I felt a bit better.

“I won’t say who made the challenge, but it was just an accident and it was just my luck at the time.

“I had to work hard to get back into the team the first time and to have clawed my way back into the side when that happened was a bit of a downer to be honest, but I’ve worked hard again to be fit for this weekend and hopefully I’ll make it.

“With Sean Welsh being suspended hopefully I can get straight back in there. I’ll train hard over the next couple of days and hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to earn a starting place.”

Fraser’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious, and whilst some players may complain about a lack of time off over the festive period, he says that getting to play football for a living is like all of his Christmases have come at once.

“Christmas can be a bit low-key for footballers but I like it to be honest,” he said.

“I love having the game on Boxing Day as well because it gives you something to look forward to.

“I just love playing football and I’m delighted I’ve got a game. If I didn’t have one I’d probably be out kicking a ball around anyway.

“It’s brilliant getting to play football every day and if I work hard enough then hopefully I can get in the team for Saturday – that would be my best Christmas present.”

Fraser’s previous and more serious ankle injury kept him out of Thistle’s victory over Saturday’s opponents back in October.

From his watching brief though, he says he saw more than enough to suggest that the Jags are as good as almost anyone else in the division.

He said: “I was out injured with my ankle in that last game, but I was up watching it and I think we showed that on our day we can match anyone in the league.

“It will be a hard game though and hopefully on the day we can get the result.

“There’s a massive difference around the place from the start of the season when we couldn’t really get going.

“Now we’ve found our feet and we’ll be looking to keep this run going as long as we possibly can.”