Ipswich Town loanee Ryan Fraser is used to spending Christmas Day with just one festive friend – his little Yorkshire Terrier, Maisie.
This year the pocket rocket winger from north-east Scotland will have his family around him in Suffolk though.
And that, coupled with his recent return from injury, means he has added motivation to deliver a blockbuster display on Boxing Day when the Blues host QPR at Portman Road, 3pm kick-off.
“I’m looking forward to Christmas because my mum and dad are down and I’ve not seen them in a while,” said the 21-year-old, who moved almost 600 miles when making the switch from Aberdeen to Bournemouth in 2013.
“The last three years my mum and dad haven’t come down so, after training in the morning, it’s just been myself and my dog Maisie on Christmas Day.
“I got her after I moved down to England and it’s been nice to have her. I go home after training and always take her out. She’s my little companion.”
He may only be on a season-long loan from the Premier League Cherries, but Fraser instantly won the hearts of Town fans with his exciting mix of pace, low centre of gravity dribbling and goals.
When he suffered a knee injury while away on international duty with Scotland Under-21s it was therefore a major blow, but, after a three month rehabilitation programme on the south coast, he is back and looked very much ready to hit the ground running when he stepped off the bench during last weekend’s 1-0 home defeat to Derby.
“When I was just about to come on I was already buzzing, but to hear the fans cheering me like that was an even bigger lift,” he said. “I just want to say thank you to them for their appreciation.
“Hopefully I can pick up where I left off. If the gaffer calls upon me to start then I’m ready. I feel like I am ready to deliver.
“I want to thank the fans for their support and I’d love to do well in front of my family on Saturday too.
“It will be dad’s first Ipswich game and, like a lot of dads, he used to take me to the park, drive me to training and come to all my away games. I’d love to score in front of mum and dad because they have been so supportive with my career.”
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