Fit-again loanee Ryan Fraser is ready, willing and able to make his first start in exactly three months for Town against QPR at Portman Road on Saturday.
Fraser, 21, made his comeback from a knee ligament injury last weekend when he came on as a second-half substitute in the 1-0 home defeat by Derby.
Manager Mick McCarthy is delighted to have the Bournemouth and Scotland U21 star available again, especially with the QPR fixture followed by visits to top-six rivals Brighton and Burnley.
Fraser said: "If the gaffer calls upon me to start I’m ready. I’m in every day doing extra work so if he calls upon me I’m sure I will deliver. This is the biggest time of the season for me. We’re in sixth spot now but these next three games are huge.
"QPR are a massive team and since they got their new manager they are doing better, then you’ve got Burnley and Brighton who are both flying as well. We’ll just take them one game at a time and look to win all three or at least collect as many points as possible.”
Fraser’s frustration at being ruled out for a minimum of three months was tempered by the fact that he originally feared he was going to have to spend an even lengthier period on the sidelines.
He said: "It was good to be back after being out for three months. To be back out there was obviously a good feeling for me.
"I was already buzzing when I was told I was going on but the reception from the crowd gave me even more of a lift. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off and be the same player I was before I got injured.
"Initially I was told I had done my cruciate ligament and that I would be out for between nine and 12 months, which wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
"So when I went to London for another scan and they said I would be out for between three and four months I was happier. I’ve even come back a bit earlier than they thought I would so that is a big plus.
"As a player you just train until the next game so you just focus on that one. The gaffer doesn’t let us get too far ahead of ourselves so we’ll only look at Brighton and how we can exploit their weaknesses once we’ve taken on QPR.
"We’re just looking forward to the QPR game and hopefully getting back to winning ways at Portman Road.”
Meanwhile, Fraser is putting thoughts of winning his first senior cap for Scotland to the back of his mind and concentrating on his club form, because he knows that he will be judged on his performances for Town when Gordon Strachan names future squads.
Fraser said: "Gordon was looking at me a couple of times before I got injured and said I was close to a call-up but for now I will focus on club football and maybe next season I will get a chance at international level.
"The Scotland U21 manager, Ricky Sbragia, rang me to see how I was getting on but I haven’t heard from Gordon. I don’t really know him but I’m sure my agent has spoken to him and he was asking how I was.”