Adrien Silva is looking forward to putting months of "frustration" behind him after finally completing his registration as a Leicester player.
The Portugal international was unable to seal a £22 million move from Sporting Lisbon on transfer deadline day last summer as the paperwork was submitted 14 seconds late.
Subsequent appeals to FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport were rejected, meaning both the club and player had to wait until January for Silva to become eligible to play.
Before coming on for hist debut in the 86th minute of Leicester's 3-0 win over Huddersfield on Monday, Silva said he was excited about the prospect of getting back on the pitch.
After the completion of his registration as a #lcfc player on New Year's Day, here's what Adrien Silva had to say in an exclusive interview with LCFC TV 👉 https://t.co/SEwAZ9bLyI pic.twitter.com/gEvcMZ0sCX
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 1, 2018
The 28-year-old, who has played several behind-closed-doors friendlies to help gain match fitness, told LCFC TV: "It's been very frustrating, but now the difficult times are past me and now I'm very happy to be close to my goal.
"I've been working hard every day to arrive at this moment and I'm in good shape. I will be in good shape because I have worked a lot -- I have confidence in that -- but I have to play games to get better."
Silva thanked his teammates for helping him during his spell on the sidelines, and says he sees a "great future" for Claude Puel's men.
"They've been great for me and they keep pushing to keep my mentality up," he said. "They have been very important for me. I see a great future in front of us.
"They keep your smile on your face. I have to thank them also for being there, not only in the good times but also in the bad ones."