The Liverpool right-back missed the beginning of the Premier League season and also the last three European Championship qualifiers with his hamstring injury.
But he was called back up for the 1-0 friendly win over Spain on Saturday - his 35th cap for his country.
"I'm very grateful," he said. "I’ve had some disappointing times with the injuries but hopefully that is behind me now.
"I tore my hamstring at the end of last season and in pretty much the same place in pre-season. In rehab I did the same thing again so obviously it’s hard to stay positive and do the right things.
"All I want to do is play football. Some days you have good days and think ‘I’m getting there’ and the next day you’ll have a bad day, so there’s lots of up and downs. But hopefully the worst is behind me now.
"I wasn’t thinking about anything to be honest. I was just thinking about the injury and myself. I’m confident in my ability and the main objective was to get back fit.
"In every position you are going to get people who want one person to play and others who want someone else to play. That’s the industry we’re in and there’s nothing I can do about that but all I can do is worry about myself and take it from there."
Source: FOOTYMAD
