Exeter City's No.41 Pedro Elawar has said he is 'buzzing to be back kicking a football' as he makes his return from a long injury lay-off.
Pedro has featured for City in pre-season for the first time since suffering a meniscus tear in April 2025, and played in-front of fans for the first time in over a year on Saturday at Truro City.
It was announced on Saturday that Pedro had changed his name to Pedro Elawar, a tribute to his Grandma.
"I've been thinking about it for a while, speaking to my family. It's my grandma's surname, and is part of my name as well, because in Portugal it's a bit different. You get two names from your Mum and two names from your Dad. It felt like the right time to change it, and she was happy about it. So, that's pretty much it."
Pedro has spent the last 12 months working on his rehab and recovery after suffering a bad injury on loan at Saturday's opponents, Weston-super-Mare.
"I had a meniscus tear April of last of 2025 and I had a surgery to repair it in June of 2025 and then I had to have another surgery in September. So it's been hard times. I have kept my faith with my religion. I'm a big believer in Christ and, yeah, it's hard times, but I'm obviously delighted to be back.
"It's a sense of relief, but I can't just settle for just being back, if that makes sense. I've got work hard to get back where I was, or even better.
"It was a bit longer a recovery than I expected it to, but I've had great support from the club - they have put trust in me and, they've supported me all the way. I'm happy to be back playing - I'm probably not right where I want to be in terms of physically wise and playing wise, but that's what I'm working towards.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's return to Weston-super-Mare, where Pedro spent the back end of the 24-25 season, he said:
"I want to say it's bittersweet, as my last official game was there when I got injured, but I had a lovely time there on loan. I wish I was able to finish the season with them and push for play-offs. It'll be nice to return and see people that I've known from there before. There's still a couple of lads there, so I'm excited just to play football and be in front of the fans again."
Watch Pedro's interview below: