The 0-0 draw against Botafogo this Sunday (04) marked Diego's return to the pitch. At the Raulino de Oliveira stadium, in Volta Redonda, Mais Querido came close to winning the derby during the second half, which featured the midfielder. After the final whistle, the number 35 player gave an analysis of the match, also talking about his return.

"It was a difficult game today, the team responded with great determination. The poor pitch obviously hinders performance a lot, but the team managed to overcome that and we created many opportunities," observed the star player, who then spoke about his individual performance. "Of course, after seven weeks, playing 30 minutes in such good condition isn't ideal, but as the games go on I'll gain rhythm," he commented.

Looking ahead to the match against Sport next Wednesday (07), Diego spoke about his likely conditions for the game. "I believe that playing the full 90 minutes will be difficult. It's been seven weeks without playing and no matter how much you train separately, nothing replaces games. Of course, I will need a few games to get back to my ideal physical condition, but the physical condition I am in today is enough to participate," he analyzed, projecting his return to 100% capacity. "I think the best form will come soon and the important thing is to be available," he concluded.

Finally, the midfielder praised the performance of young striker Vinicius Júnior, who came close to scoring a spectacular goal in the derby. "I'm very happy to see a player like that in Brazilian football. To see that joy in playing, that audacity. It's really a pleasure to watch. He's a player who will help us a lot and has already been helping us. He came on well again today. May he continue like this. I also end up learning a lot from these youngsters, from their objectivity, from their joy, it's contagious," Diego praised.

On Wednesday (07), Mais Querido will face Sport at Ilha do Retiro, with the ball rolling from 21:45 pm.