Inter Milan midfielder Radja Nainggolan, currently back on loan at fellow Serie A side Cagliari, said Inter coach Antonio Conte had not given him a chance to show what he could do, having not given him a single start this season.

Nainggolan returned to Cagliari last week, having also spent last season there on loan. “I was hurt when, after giving me just eight minutes in a match, he (Conte) said I was responsible for everything,” the Belgium international told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.

“What could I have done in eight minutes? But I didn’t make a controversy of it then, and I won’t now either. That’s just how it went.”

Perhaps hoping to keep the door open for a return to Inter, Nainggolan nevertheless said of Conte: “He is a great coach.”

Nainggolan tested positive for Covid-19 in October and felt relieved that he had recovered in 10 days while continuing to train at home.

“This year on the pitch we are defending much more than a result. We are defending the championship from the virus,” he said.