Montolivo pleased with first start back

The midfielder featured in the starting XI for the first time in six months, having fractured his shin bone in a pre-World Cup friendly for Italy in May.

Montolivo appeared as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Udinese last weekend, and played just over an hour at Genoa before being replaced by Andrea Poli.

Despite the disappointing result, Montolivo was pleased to have got a significant amount of playing time under his belt.

"I am happy to be back on the pitch after six months," he told the club's official website.

"For me it's like a victory. I suffered being out on the sidelines.

"Of course, I would have preferred to speak about a victory. I did everything to come back quickly, and now the most important thing is to get back into an ideal shape.

"I have to thank the club, CEO [Adriano] Galliani, the medical staff, Dr. Tavana, the surgeons that operated on me, my family, my wife, they were the people close to me."