Benedikt Howedes said he cannot wait to launch his Juventus career as he looks to put six injury blighted months behind him.
The German defender joined Juventus on a season-long loan from Schalke in the summer, but he has been restricted to just one Serie A appearance in November due to a string of setbacks.
Now, however, the 29-year-old is back in full team training and ready to make his contribution to the club's challenge for three trophies this season.
"I'm happy to be back with the team," Howedes told the club's website. "I'm in good shape actually. I've been training for one and a half weeks with the team so I'm getting closer.
"I came here to play as much as possible, yet I've always been affected by injuries. The staff have helped me a lot, though, and this was very useful for me. I can still say that it's been a great experience so far. We want to be successful and we want to win the league and maybe the Champions League. We work every day very hard to be successful."
While his opportunities have been limited so far, Howedes feels his experience in Turin has helped him, especially working for Massimiliano Allegri.
"He's a really nice guy and has bene really successful at Juve -- he's been in two finals of the Champions League and won the Italian league, so he's been very successful," Howedes said. "I think he's a fantastic coach. Unfortunately I didn't have much time training with him yet because of my injuries."
Howedes now has just three months to convince Allegri and Juve to offer him a permanent stay at the club, and he is hopeful of remaining in Turin.
"I like Turin very much," he said. "It's very close to the mountains so you always have a fantastic view when you come out of the house. It's beautiful. The sun is nearly always shining which is perfect and makes a big difference to my hometown. The Italian lifestyle is nice. I like it very much."
