Mario Rui: The fans can give us a massive lift

The league game against Lazio earlier in the season was your first time on the bench after your injury lay-off. How are you feeling now, a few months down the line?

“I'm much better of course because a fair bit of time has passed since then. I was still feeling my way back at the time and I wasn't fully match fit. I needed to up the intensity in training and get minutes under my belt. I reckon I'm in good shape now – not quite at my best yet but not far off. It's just a matter of time. I need to get my confidence back up but I feel I'm almost back to 100%."

What did you learn from your spell on the sidelines? Kevin Strootman said he came back a stronger person after his own injury. What about you?

“It was a character-building experience as I'd never had to deal with such an injury before – it was my first serious one. It was an odd feeling as I didn't really know what to expect. Thanks to the help I got from everyone around me I was able to wake up in the morning with a smile on my face and go about the day with a positive outlook. That helped me a lot.”

What happened in the first leg against Lazio?

“It's hard to say. The derby is different to any other game and each one is different. It was a bad defeat but we didn't deserve to lose by two goals. We know we're capable of turning the tie around.”

How do you set about overcoming a two-goal deficit?

“The hardest thing about it is the result itself because preparing for the game is easy. We're 2-0 down so we just need to go for the win and try to score as quickly as possible.”

Do you think you've learnt anything from the game against Lyon about how to approach this return leg the right way?

“We certainly gained something from it. We'd never had to overturn a bad result before that game and although ultimately it didn't end up the way we wanted, we saw that it's perfectly possible to turn the tie around. We showed what a great team we are. Hopefully we'll be able to produce a similar performance against Lazio.”

Which Lazio player do think poses the biggest threat?

“They're strong as a team. They have some good players but I think their main strength lies in the team itself.”

The barriers have now been removed and the fans from the Curva will be back at the stadium. How much can the fans contribute?

“Loads – I think we saw that against Lyon. We started the game trailing by two goals but the fans really drove us on. It will be easier with them behind us: they give you an extra boost.”

Have you understood just how important the derby is in Rome?

“It was clear how important this game was even before I joined the club. Now I've had the chance to experience two Rome derbies from the inside – one we won and the other we lost. It's fantastic to be involved in a game like this.”