He was one of the strong men of the start of the year. His injury at the Vélodrome, on February 17, made the defeat all the more bitter (3-2). One month on, Rony Lopes is back. Fresh, trained up, the Portuguese creator wants to pick up where he left off. He'll get that chance on Saturday, in another derby. The best way to launch his final sprint to the end of the season and that of the Gym.

Rony, how do you feel?

Very good. I no longer had any pain after the first fortnight, but we didn't want to take any risks while the injury wasn't completely healed. As it was a hamstring injury and I use the hamstring a lot in the way I play, with the staff we wanted to take an extra week compared to the recovery schedule set out at the start, even if was frustrating to not be on the field. We did the right thing, because the last X-ray showed that everything had healed and that allowed me to get back into squad training. I feel ready to help the team.

The timing is good, much is expected of you…

I know and I feel it. It's a good thing. But we need to take things progressively. After 4 weeks out, it will be difficult to help the team for 90 minutes. But I will be able to help the team for a shorter period. I can't wait to play again.

What memories do you have of the first match?

We didn't win and I got injured, so I have no good memories. We really have the opportunity of doing better on Saturday, and we mustn't waste that chance. At Marseille, we didn't start well, we played poorly in the first half, we didn't play. When you mess up a half in a derby then it becomes difficult.

Your injury arrived at a bad time…

There's never a good time to get injured, but it's true that it was really bad timing. I'd just had my best week at Nice, with 3 goals in 2 games, including one in Paris. It's difficult to understand why it happened to me, why then, just when I was doing well. I did everything in order to get back to my best. When you are at that level and then you get hurt, you start asking questions of yourself. For 3 or 4 days I found it really difficult to take. After that I got back to thinking positively in order to recover as quickly as possible.

"Thinking positively," does that mean we're soon going to see the Rony of before your injury?

Of course! I think it will be easier, because I know what I need to do to get back to my best. So I'm going to do the same things. There's always a lot of apprehension, but I feel good. The work I've done over the last fortnight has been very good.

What was your schedule over the month?

At the start it was all icing, stretching, massages. The last two weeks, I did a session in the morning with the fitness coach every morning and then I had treatment in the afternoon.

Just before your injury, you were at your best physically. Was that the main reason for your good form?

Of course the physical side of things is important, but even more important than that is the mental side of things. The first half of the season was really difficult for me mentally. After Christmas, I had time to make the most of my family. At the start of the year, I was able to be alone for a bit, to focus and to think about the things I needed to do better. I got into good habits and it showed on the field. And I've kept those good habits.

In a difficult period, you didn't hesitate to take on the responsibilities…

I'm here for that. I know that everybody expects a lot from me. In the first half of the season, I wasn't up to the expected level. I wasn't good and it was normal that that was spoken about. But afterwards, when the form came back, I sensed that everybody had more confidence in me, that people were expecting me to win games. I like this responsibility. I like to feel important to the team and to everybody.

Had you not felt that important for a while?

Yes, a long time… And that's why having that feeing really did me some good.

We see that you have built up a real relationship with Alexis Claude-Mauruce in your most recent matches. Has that been worked on or is it something natural?

Alexis is an intelligent player, with lots of quality. It was difficult for him, like everybody, in the first part of the season. Now, as he's enjoying a run of matches, he's got more confidence. We understand football in the same way, and I think you can see that. It means that everything happens naturally. We started to work on things in training, and then it was fluid when it came to matches. We know how each other move and we've struck a good understanding. It could help the team.

In terms of the team's play, what has changed?

If I have to mention one thing, then it would be the change in system. I have the impression that it has helped us. To start with, with 3 defenders, we didn't find the right formula. In the 4-3-3, everybody understood well our way of playing. What is difficult is that with the injuries, the coach hasn't been able to line up the same 11 two games running… Now, we're getting back to form progressively. We've had two wins and a draw and I hope the form will carry on on Saturday!

C.D.

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