“An immense feeling of happiness”

Hello Demi, it’s great to see you back on the pitch after your foot injury. How close are you to being back to your best?

Demi: “I feel really good again and don’t have any pain anymore. Overall, I feel back to a good level. The goal against Eintracht Frankfurt gave me an extra boost, and every training session, every match gets me closer to top form.”

It was one of the first significant injury breaks of your professional career, and you were out for a total of 91 days. How did you deal with it?

Demi: “I’m ambitious and I can be impatient at times as well, so this was something new, not being able to train or play with the team for such a long period of time. My family and friends helped me through it in a big way, and I kept in regular contact with the team and the coaching staff. I managed to remain very positive, and I knew I’d be able to fully get over the injury if I took it carefully and step by step.”

When you made your return to the starting line-up, in the 3-2 home win over Frankfurt on 13 January 2026, you scored the goal to make it 1-1. What went through your head when the ball hit the back of the net?

Demi: “An immense feeling of happiness. I thought about the times I’d spent putting myself through things to make it back, and about all the people who’d supported me so much during my recovery – family, friends, coaches, backroom staff, team-mates… I like to think back to that goal and to the emotions I felt.”

Things are hotting up on a number of different fronts: the Bundesliga, the UEFA Europa League, the DFB Cup… How do you evaluate VfB’s season to date?

Demi: “We’re looking good in all three competitions, and that’s down to our hard work. We want to build on this to make it into a successful season for VfB. It’s important for us to take it one game at a time and only focus on the next match at hand. It doesn’t make much sense thinking about what might happen in April or May already.”