Leonardo Sarto will have the chance to reignite his career after signing a one-year deal at Benetton.
The Italy winger has not featured for his country since 2017, with a lingering back injury having kept him on the sidelines for much of last season.
However, he has spent the summer training in Treviso in a bid to return to full fitness and is relishing the opportunity to show what he can do with Benetton.
Sarto said: “I wanted to stay in shape and Benetton where happy to give me a hand doing that. The staff and teammates immediately welcomed me and treated me like a Benetton player in every way, as they always do with permit players.
“From the moment that I started talking with the board about a deal at Treviso, we quickly found an agreement.
“Three years abroad have allowed me to mature as a person and I hope to bring my experience and contribute positively to the squad all season.
“I’ve already got an indication of the support this week, because the fans are always there to watch at Ghirada and then I remember the atmosphere at Monigo as an opponent and I can’t wait to experience it as a Lion.”
Sarto began his career with Zebre, where he spent four seasons and first broke into the Italian national team.
He made his Championship bow in 2014, and has scored four tries in 14 Guinness Six Nations appearances.
Since leaving Zebre in 2016, he has played for Glasgow Warriors and Leicester Tigers, and now returns to his native Italy in a bid to return to the national team.
