BRISTOL City starlet Christian Ribeiro has spoken of his desire to put a nightmare close-season behind him now he is back fit again.

The Wales international defender revealed how he had been bed-ridden with back pain during the summer.

Ribeiro was unable to take part in pre-season training and is only now regaining full fitness having missed all of City's games so far.

It could be worse for the 20-year-old – fellow City defender and Wales youngster James Wilson has been ruled out for the whole campaign after knee surgery.

Ribeiro revealed how making his senior Wales debut in Croatia in May contributed to his back trouble.

"I went to play for Wales Under-21s and got called up for the senior side. I have never hurt my back before, but my back started to get stiff in training," he said.

"I played with it, it got worse and it was diagnosed as a disc bulge. I had a number of back spasms and I was in real pain all summer – I couldn't move.

"I was only able to go away on holiday for one week and I was bed-ridden for a while, so it wasn't a good summer.

"My fitness levels got really low, so I had to work really hard to get them back up.

Now I am just working really hard and, hopefully, soon I will get a chance to show what I can do."

Ribeiro has had two matches behind closed doors for City's second string since overcoming his back complaint.

"I have played in two reserve games now – I had 45 minutes against Cheltenham and 90 minutes against Aldershot, so I'm getting through it all now," he said.

"I'm working hard to get my fitness levels up and it has been difficult over the last few weeks, but I am reaping the rewards now."

City did not allow Riberio to link up with the Wales Under-21 squad for the upcoming double- header of qualifiers in the space of four days.

First Brian Flynn's men face their Hungarian counterparts in the Sostoi Stadium, Szekesfehervar, on Saturday afternoon before they travel to Italy on Tuesday.

Wales go into the matches at the top of Group Three. The group winners all qualify for the play-offs which will decide who makes the eight-team finals in Denmark next summer.

The senior Welsh side has been drawn against England in the European Championship qualifiers over the next 18 months and Ribeiro would love to be involved.

"There are some big games coming up for Wales, but I have to play well for Bristol City first and then, if I do well, hopefully I will get picked for them," he said.

City's next first-team match is at Scunthorpe next Saturday.