Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will make a comeback at next month's Argentina Open following four bouts of knee surgery.
The 33-year-old has not competed since appearing at Queen's back in 2019, when he fractured his kneecap in his first round match against Denis Shapovalov, but has now accepted wildcards into both the tournament in Buenos Aires and the Rio Open in Brazil the following week.
Both are clay-court tournaments with the ATP 250 Argentina Open starting on Monday, February 7, while the ATP 500 event in Brazil gets underway a week later on February 14.
Del Potro has endured a harrowing road to recovery, undergoing right knee surgery following his injury in London, only to need more procedures the following year and then a fourth bout of surgery in March 2021.
However, speaking to reporters at last September's US Open, he declared he had stepped up training and intended to return to sport within a matter of months.
Del Potro's only Grand Slam win came at the US Open back in 2009, when the Argentinian twice came from a set down to stun Roger Federer 3-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-2.
He also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2013, losing to Novak Djokovic, is a two-time French Open semi-finalist, a two-time Australian quarter-finalist, and an Olympic silver medalist.
He was also instrumental in his country's 2016 Davis Cup success, winning his singles matches against Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic in the final against Croatia. In the semi-final, his victory over Andy Murray had been critical in Argentina beating Great Britain.
However, having been as high as world no 3 at the peak of his powers, he has now slipped to 757th in the rankings, and whether he can rediscover his past form upon his return remains to be seen.
News of his comeback has seemingly gone down well with tennis fans though, with @georgemccauley posting on Twitter: "Absolute warrior! I hope he can stay healthy."
@DominicTheme said: "Congratulations to Juan Martin del Potro. Health has been unkind to him. I wish that he'd be able to play as long as he wishes as to fulfil his heart's desire."
@soulsurferzz added: "Imagine the despair for so long. Just wanna see him play and smile on the court again."
