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.
"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."
