Bridge ready to start

Fulham new boy Wayne Bridge says he is desperate to taste first team football again after leaving London neighbours Chelsea on loan.

The former Southampton man has moved to Chris Coleman's side in a bid to keep his World Cup aspirations alive, after falling out of favour with Blues boss Jose Mourinho.

Bridge was sidelined for six months after suffering a serious injury in the FA Cup, and since coming back in August his first team openings have been limited due to the form of Asier Del Horno.

However, Bridge says despite lingering memories of his injury, he is now ready to resume his career and sample the atmosphere at Craven Cottage.

"Sometimes now if I see someone going for a heavy challenge I squint a bit and hope he hasn't done anything bad," Bridge told Sky Sports News.

"But once I'm out there you just forget about everything really and get on with the football.

"I haven't played a Champions League game for God knows how long, it's fantastic for the players who get to play in those games.

"When you are not there it just does not feel the same, I want to get back to playing football, enjoying the atmosphere, I haven't seen that atmosphere for a long time.

"The feeling you get around the stadium and on the pitch, I haven't felt it that often and that's what I want to feel."

Bridge believes that given a run of games for Fulham he can soon recover match fitness after a frustrating time on the sidelines at Stamford Bridge.

"You are always going to want to play when you are training only," Bridge added.

"It's a certain fitness, you can feel fit but going into a game ten minutes in you can be breathing heavily and think how am I going to get through this?

"All I need is a few games under my belt, 90 minutes, I need to play them in a row to feel at my peak again.

"I was always a fit lad, I used to cruise through 90 minutes, keep going all the time, whereas now I need a few games in a row to get to that peak again."