Damien Duff has told setanta.com that he hopes to be involved for the Republic of Ireland in next week's crunch match with Bulgaria.
The Newcastle United winger played 45 minutes in a friendly match with Nigeria on Friday evening as The Boys In Green stepped up their preparations for the World Cup qualifier in Sofia.
If Ireland can beat Bulgaria, then they will put themselves in a great position to secure second place in Group 8, while also keeping the pressure on table toppers Italy.
Don't forget to watch the Republic of Ireland take on Bulgaria in their World Cup qualifier on Saturday, June 6 from 17:50 on Setanta Sports 2.
Having drawn with Italy in their last qualifying match confidence is high in the squad and Duff has picked up on that despite missing the trip to Bari due to injury.
Now that he is back to full fitness, he wants to force his way back into the starting eleven and play his part in trying to topple Bulgaria.
"Definitely. I think I've missed four qualifiers already," Duff told setanta.com when asked if he was hoping to be involved in next week's game.
"Even though I haven't missed too many games overall this season, I have missed out on some for Ireland.
"We have a couple of days off now and I look forward to training again next Tuesday."
Regarding Friday's game, Duff believes it was a decent test for the Irish side and that there was plenty to be pleased about from it.
"It was a good work-out. It is always hard playing these type of friendlies, but I thought we did well and had a few chances," he stated.
"They were a tough team, so there is a lot of positive stuff to take into next week."