By Glenn Mason in Montecatini
From a barbeque at his parents' house on Saturday to a pre-Euro 2012 training camp in Italy on Sunday, it was a whirlwind 24 hours for Republic of Ireland midfielder Paul Green.
Keith Fahey's persistent groin injury opened the way for Green to be promoted from the stand-by list and join Giovanni Trapattoni's squad.
Green feels "gutted" for former room-mate Fahey to miss out, but is thrilled to be given a chance he never thought would come his way.
After receiving a phone call from the FAI's Mary O'Brien, Green faced a mad dash to meet up with squad in Dublin before they flew out to Italy the next morning.
He said: "I got the phone call at about nine o'clock. Left there at about ten or 11 to get back to Derby in an hour. Got my stuff ready and was in bed at about one.
"I was up at four and on the plane at six. I got in to Dublin Airport and met up with the lads at about half-nine.
"Then it was straight over here and training. I got a bit of time to myself and then trained again this afternoon."
Green said it is a "great achievement" just to be in the 23-man squad and is determined to take any chance that comes his way.
"To get to play in the championships would be the biggest achievement of my career so far. I never thought I'd be here," he admitted.
"I'm absolutely delighted to be here and hopefully I can get involved at some time in the championships.
"[Glenn] Whelan, [Keith] Andrews and [Darron] Gibson are all fantastic players and playing in the Premiership so no doubt it is going to be tough to get into the team but I'm there if anything happens.
"Everyone is buzzing. The result against Bosnia was fantastic and it was morale-boosting going into the tournament."
Green took his family away on holiday to Cyprus for a short break after the Championship season concluded, but maintained his fitness with a number of runs "just in case".
His short-term future is certain with Ireland, but the situation is not so clear at club level, as Green is without a club after leaving Derby County at the end of the season.
The task of finding a new employer has been left up to his agent, but there can be no better shop window than a major tournament.
He said his focus is squarely on Euro 2012 and he is keen to repay the faith Trapattoni has shown by selecting him.
Green said: "When I was injured he kept ringing me and texting me to see how I was getting on.
"It was nice to get them calls and nice to be rated by the manager because he has done a lot of things in the game.
"He has still got the desire and passion to do well for the country. It shows in his team."
