Friday 10 June 2016 17:09, UK
Kyle Lafferty has declared himself fit for Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 opener after returning to training on Friday morning.
The 28-year-old looked to be struggling for Sunday's fixture against Poland in Nice after limping out of a morning workout on Tuesday with a groin problem.
The injury limited him to work on a bike machine the following day before undergoing scans to determine the severity of the problem.
However, having received positive news on the scan on Wednesday, the Norwich City forward was given the green light to resume training with the remainder of the squad at their Saint-Georges-de-Reneins base.
And during a resistance-band exercise, he mimicked a prancing horse - much to the amusement of his colleagues - before insisting he would be fine for the Polish test lying in wait on the French Riviera.
Lafferty's appearance gave manager Michael O'Neill a clean bill of health with all 23 members of the travelling party involved in the session ahead of the Group C tie.
In an interview with the Irish Football Association, the former Rangers striker said: "It's feeling good, I trained by myself yesterday, did a few runs, a few twists and turns and it feels good.
"Seeing the way I fell, the way I landed, I thought the worst, but I came through it and got the scan results which were all clear and I've never felt better.
"When I had the sharpest pain in my groin, I thought the worst, as you do, but the longer the day went on, I started feeling better as I was getting more stiff and that was probably a good sign.
"I went for a scan and the results came back clear and it gave me the go-ahead to start training intense again. I have and I feel great."
Of his team-mate's antics on the training field, defender Gareth McAuley says it is nothing more than they have come to expect from the joker in the squad.
"That's just Kyle, he keeps us all entertained," said the West Brom star. "He's not far off making himself the clown, but once we get there and at the stadium he will be fully focused and he knows how important he is to us.
"He's a big player in what we're trying to do. He's all right, I think he was like Bambi on ice the other day. He's gone through it all right - at some stage he slept in the chapel at the hotel the other night!
"But he's in good spirits. It gave us all a bit of a scare but he's fine."
Northern Ireland fly out to Nice on Saturday morning and will train at the stadium in the afternoon prior to their first ever fixture at a European Championship finals.
