Massimo Donati is hoping to step out of the shadows at Celtic and become a first-team regular.
Hoops midfielder hoping for first-team recall
Massimo Donati is hoping to step out of the shadows at Celtic and become a first-team regular.
The Italian midfielder has suffered a frustrating season so far, with toe and ankle injuries hindering his progress.
He has been restricted to just six appearances as a result, with four of them coming off the bench.
He was handed an opportunity to impress in the recent Scottish Cup victory over Queens Park, but his lack of action was evident as he struggled to last the pace.
Donati is a committed character, though, and believes that a combination of good fortune and hard work will see him force his way back into Gordon Strachan's plans.
"When the season started, I wasn't in the team all of the time," he told the
Evening Times.
"But, in the three games before my toe injury, I felt I took my chance. I won a couple of Man of the Match awards and the manager was happy with me.
"I had been playing a lot more regularly and I was gaining confidence. Then I got injured and it was hard to take.
"I had waited for my chance and took it, but it all counted for nothing.
"To break my toe would have been bad enough. But to do it in a training session was even worse."
Fitness
Donati admits his performance against Queens Park was not good enough, but is hoping to be handed an opportunity to make amends in the near future.
"I am happy to be back playing, but I wasn't happy with the way I played against Queen's Park," he added.
"However, after being out for two months, it's never easy to come back.
"My fitness isn't good just now. I need to train and try to get back to the level of before. It might take a few weeks, but I'll get there.
"It won't be easy to get back into the team because we have a lot of very good midfield players.
"But, what can I do? I just need to work hard. Nobody likes sitting on the bench, but I just have to be patient.
"It's good we have so many games left. Last season we did well in the Champions League, but when that was over we had only the league to think about.
"This time we have much more to look forward to."
