Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta has declared that he is ready to start the new season after recovering from a foot injury.
Arteta was a doubt for the opening game of the campaign against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday after suffering the problem on Everton's pre-season tour to America last month.
The Spanish star initially feared that he had broken his foot but those fears were thankfully allayed and Arteta made his long-awaited return to action in a friendly against Bohemians in Ireland on Monday night.
The midfielder accepts that he still has a way to go to reach full fitness but played 67 minutes in Dublin without any further problems and he is now targeting being involved against QPR at the weekend.
Arteta told the Liverpool Echo: "It's good to be back. I nearly broke my foot in a tackle in America. We thought the bone was broken, but thank-fully it wasn't in the end although it took a couple of weeks to find out due to the swelling.
"I couldn't train but hopefully now I can get my fitness back and start the season properly.
"I will tell you how far I am off full fitness after the game on Saturday.
"You never know, it will obviously be very different in front of your own crowd at your own stadium and there is the adrenaline of a Premier League football game. The tempo will be different.
"It (the injury) was not ideal because pre season you want to take part in every session, and play all the games to get in the best condition possible for the start.
"But it's not been the case. I've been working really hard in the last 10 days and we'll see how I do in game against QPR."
Arteta will now step up his fitness preparations as he plays catch up with the rest of the squad.
Boss David Moyes used all 19 of the players who travelled to Dublin, although he did not risk Louis Saha, Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill or Phil Jagielka.
Don’t forget - Everton v QPR live on Setanta Sports in Ireland, Sat Aug 20th