RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippe Coutinho has vowed to undertake extra training during Brazilian football's upcoming summer break after an injury-riddled start to his latest spell at Vasco da Gama.
Coutinho has made just 17 appearances across all competitions for Vasco since rejoining his original club in July on a year-long loan from Aston Villa.
The 32-year-old showed he had fully recovered from a persistent hamstring problem by scoring one goal and setting up another in Vasco's 2-0 victory over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday.
"It's a process," the former Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich playmaker said. "I've always given my all and here it's been no different. There's this readaptation process, I have to respect that. I'm doing my best to improve my performance every day and help the team on and off the field."
He added: "I'm still fighting. Next year, I'll definitely do extra work during the vacation to speed up this whole process and aim for important things."
Vasco is currently 10th in Brazil's 20-team top-flight standings with one game remaining in the season. The club will finish the 2024 league campaign with an away clash against Cuiaba on Sunday.
Irrespective of the result, the four-time Brazilian Serie A champions are guaranteed a berth in next year's Copa Sudamericana, South America's equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.
"I'm very happy to be living this moment," Coutinho said. "It's been a long time since Vasco played in a South American competition. It's an important milestone for us.
"Of course, next year, we aim to have a good preseason and challenge for titles. The club deserves this. It's a club with a lot of history. It deserves to be up there, fighting for international championships." ■
