FORMER national sevens captain Levani Botia is itching to get back on the field to play his favourite sport.
The 23-year-old was injured before the Uprising 7s earlier this month and missed the third leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
Last year, the Naivucini villager of Naitasiri led Fiji to retain the Gold Coast 7s title and this month, like every other 7s rugby player who missed a chance to play, he watched the Fiji team go down in the bowl competition in the Wellington 7s and in the semi-finals of the Las Vegas 7s.
Botia told Times Sport the loss in the two tournaments was more agonising than the injury he suffered and really wanted to get back into the national sevens side.
"I have recovered from the injury and am in the rehab stage," he said.
"I want to start playing again but will have to get a clearance from the doctor first and I want to get that done as soon as possible because I really want to play."
He said getting back into the national sevens side would be difficult and he had to earn the right the wear the national jumper.
"With the number of players that are in the training squad, it's going to be very hard for me to get my jersey back," Botia said.
"But, I will earn it back for sure and prove to the coaches that I deserve to wear that jersey and I will give it my best shot. It's a huge challenge and I will accept this challenge because I want to play for the Fiji team in the Hong Kong 7s and the World Cup."
Botia said it would be a dream come true to get a chance to play at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in June in Moscow, Russia.
"I know everyone is targeting the World Cup and it is my main aim too and I just hope the coaches see the effort I am willing to put in if given the chance to play."