Quick healer Ryan Christie is hoping he can “start where I left off” following his rapid return to fitness.
Christie hit the comeback trail when he came off the bench during the second half of AFC Bournemouth’s 2-1 defeat at Preston on Saturday.
The Scotland international injured his quad after opening the scoring in the Cherries’ 3-1 win over Birmingham at Vitality Stadium last month.
Christie initially feared he could be set for a lengthy lay-off, which would have hampered his chances of featuring in important games for club and country.
But after working diligently under the watchful eye of the club’s medical team, the 27-year-old was back a lot sooner than first anticipated.
Asked about his injury, Christie said: “It’s all part of the ups and downs of football and you never know what’s round the corner. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as first feared.
“First of all, I thought it could be up to two months but I managed to turn it round in three weeks so, when I look at that, I take it as a massive positive that I’m fit again and part of the team so soon.
“Hopefully, I can start where I left off as I felt like I was coming into a nice run of form. It would be nice to get a couple more goals in the big games we’ve got coming up.”
Christie, a mainstay of the Cherries’ push for promotion this season, missed just two games – the dramatic wins over Blackpool and Stoke.
He added: “It was frustrating, especially when I felt like I was coming into a good run of form.
“Injuries are a setback of football and you’re desperate to see the team do well when you’re not playing.
“Siriki (Dembele) has been incredible and has made a real impact and so have the rest of the boys who have come in.
“Competition in the squad is good – it raises everybody’s level, especially from now until the end of the season.
“That's something we're going to need and a big squad full of talent is certainly going to come in handy.”
Christie will be hoping to feature when the Cherries kick off the first of three successive home games against Peterborough on Tuesday.
Scott Parker’s team host Derby on Saturday before entertaining Reading on Tuesday 15 March, with all three teams currently in the bottom four.
Looking ahead to the games, Christie said: “I think every team in this league possesses their own kind of threat so I’m sure everybody we face will be coming with an attacking threat as well.
“But the way we play, very possession-based, we like to take the game to teams.
“Naturally, sometimes, you can end up penning teams in and playing against a back five or a very low block. It’s something we’re used to, it's something we expect and then it puts the onus on us to go and break these teams down.”
