Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley is itching to make his first appearance under Nigel Pearson after shaking off his injury woes to play 45 minutes for the club’s Under-23s.
Cleverley has been out of action since October after picking up an Achilles injury during Watford’s draw with Bournemouth.
The 30-year-old has been working hard to get fit, though, and turned out for the Hornets’ Under-23 side on Monday.
Cleverley completed 45 minutes and he is now hoping to make his first appearance under new boss Pearson.
“It's brilliant to be back,” Cleverley told Watford’s website.
“It was the same sort of rehab process as last time when I played 45 minutes for the 23s.
“It's important to get that spatial awareness and that match competitiveness even though it's not in the first team.
“There is nothing like being part of a match situation where you can put in your tackles, put your passes in and put 100 per cent on everything. I'm really pleased.
“I'm not the best watcher and there have been a few of us at the back there all twitching and getting up and down off our seats.
“But it's a much more positive side to come back into it. As the head coach keeps saying, we've just got to focus on ourselves and, as long we do our jobs, we can hold our heads high.
“We are where we are for a reason and it's not a time to start looking at our squad on paper. It's time to get out there and put in performances.”
