Ryan Fraser will head back to Newcastle after putting in two excellent displays for Scotland in the Nations League. Fraser was the Man of the Match against Slovakia over the weekend. He followed up that performance with the only goal in the win against the Czech Republic last night.

Steve Bruce has handled the winger with care since he signed as a free agent in September. Fraser hadn’t played since Bournemouth’s last game before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Ryan did get three straight appearances in a week after making his debut in the league cup against Blackburn. But he ended up missing the match at Spurs with a slight injury before getting his second start at Newport County.

Fraser has ended up playing quite a bit for Newcastle despite just the two starts. Bruce was forced into using the 26-year-old as an early substitute on two occasions due to injuries.

He came on around the 30-minute mark against Brighton when Allan Saint-Maximin suffered his ankle injury and then a few days later was brought on to start the second half at Morecambe when Ciaran Clark got injured.

Ryan made three appearances over the international break with a late cameo in the EURO Qualifier against Israel accompanying his two Nation League starts. So he should be pretty close to being fully match fit.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Bruce will slot the pacy winger in straight away. With Joelinton putting in some of his best performances in a Newcastle shirt, the Brazilian may be hard to drop for Saturday’s match against Manchester United.

Fraser spoke after Scotland’s win against the Czech Republic. His focus will now turn back to Newcastle United with the hopes of another call-up for Scotland in November.

While he understands why Bruce has taken it slowly with his minutes on the pitch, Ryan is clear that he wants to see those minutes ratcheted up soon.

The Chronicle has published the following comments from Fraser about his hope to get more time on the pitch for Newcastle:

“It’s been difficult because I spent seven or eight months not playing football.

“I come in and scored on my debut for Newcastle.

“I have not been involved as much as I wanted to.

“I will go back now and I need to get into the team, who are doing well with seven points, to get into the plans (for Scotland) next month and I need to do well.

“I want to play next month, score, and want us to win.”

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