Kaizer Chiefs forward Samir Nurkovic has hinted at being available for Saturday’s Nedbank Cup Round of 32 match against TS Galaxy following his recovery from a knee injury.
The 29-year-old was last involved in action in September with a nagging knee which left him requiring surgery and had to spend some time in his native Serbia recovering.
But he is now back and started training with the rest of the Chiefs squad in January after the team returned from their festive holidays.
While he admits he is yet to regain full fitness, Nurkovic has hinted at being available for selection ahead of the TS Galaxy clash.
“I’m really happy to be finally back with the boys on the field. We are working hard preparing hard for the next match, the Nedbank Cup and I think we are ready,” Nurkovic told Chiefs media.
“I’m still working hard to get into the best possible shape where I used to be. It requires collective work but I’ll be there soon. Like I said, I’m really happy to be back. It was painful watching all these games from the sidelines on the TV.”
Nurkovic suffered the injury during last season’s Caf Champions League semi-final, second leg match against Wydad Casablanca.
But he continued to play under treatment with surgery being the last option.
However, four games into this season, the Serb could not continue and had to go under the knife.
He only stopped using crutches in early January before starting light workouts and eventually joining the rest of the squad in training.
“I really miss supporters and all that stuff so I can’t wait to be back, I can’t wait to have the faithful Amakhosi family on the field and on the stands. Everything will be alright,” said Nurkovic.
“Everybody knows me as ‘kokota piano’ since the first game I played for Kaizer Chiefs, so I can’t wait to make my fans and the Amakhosi family happy again.”
His return would boost coach Stuart Baxter’s attacking options where Leonardo Castro is another choice upfront together with Khama Billiat and Lazarous Kambole.