In the near future, an event may occur that many Russian basketball fans have been eagerly awaiting.

Khimki's center Timofey Mozgov announced his resumption of his career after an almost three-year hiatus due to a serious knee injury.

According to the NBA champion, the team is going through hard times at the moment, so he decided to help her.

“There are tough seasons, even for the great clubs, especially this year there were a lot of difficulties related to health and covid limitations, everything was superimposed on each other.

I made a decision for myself that I want to help the team, my friends.

Everyone is fighting now with all their might, for the honor of the club and dedication to the sport, for the sake of our fans.

And I am ready to fight side by side with them.

This is my own team, I can't and don't want to stand aside at such moments, "Sport-Express quotes Mozgov.

The 34-year-old basketball player may appear on the floor as early as April 12 in the VTB United League home match with Yenisey Krasnoyarsk.

This was first announced by insider Donatas Urbonas, and then confirmed by the club's press service.

It was noted that the day before the basketball player had a full training session with the team.

The return of one of the main stars of the yellow-blue was commented on by the acting head coach Andrey Maltsev.

He noted that everyone in the team is happy that "after three years of suffering with knees, Brains will finally return to the game."

At the moment, Mozgov's last match was the qualifying match of the Russia-France World Cup, which took place on July 2, 2018.

Then the center left the Brooklyn Nets, signing a two-year contract with the Orlando Magic.

But then he had to refuse to participate in the next training camp of the national team due to an aggravated knee injury that worried him even during his performance for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In January 2019, the athlete underwent surgery, but the doctors did not dare to predict the timing of recovery.

He did not play a single match in the 2018/19 season and was expelled from the team in July.

It soon became clear that Mozgov would be forced to leave the NBA, since none of the clubs were interested in his services.

It was reported that at that time he had already reached an oral agreement with Khimki, for which he played from 2006 to 2010.

Thus, for the first time since 2000, not a single Russian representative remained in the North American League.

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In July 2019, the basketball player signed a one-year contract with the champions of the VTB United League for the 2010/11 season.

The club understood that he was not in optimal shape and was unlikely to immediately be able to help the team, so the agreement was concluded on special conditions.

In particular, according to media reports, a clause was spelled out in it, according to which the center would not receive a salary until he returned to the game.

However, both the management and the former head coach of Khimki Rimas Kurtinaitis were counting on Mozgov.

He continued the recovery process in the new team, underwent medical treatment in Germany and Spain, and also conducted individual training under the guidance of the renowned physical training specialist Jure Draxlar.

Nevertheless, the return of the Russian to the sport was in question, there were rumors that he could even end his career.

But Mozgov progressed rapidly, which was noted by many experts, including Kurtinaitis, who singled out his satisfactory form despite many months of downtime.

The club also expressed their readiness to help the player return to the main squad.

Before the pause in the 2019/20 season due to the pandemic, Mozgov began training in the general group, and it was even reported that he was ready to take to the floor in official matches if the season resumed.

However, in June he had to undergo another knee operation, which again raised doubts about the resumption of his career, although the player himself remained optimistic and categorically refused to talk about retirement from the sport.

It was estimated that it would take him about four to six months to recover.

In March of this year, Khimki announced him for the upcoming VTB United League matches.

It is worth noting that the Moscow Region team really found itself in a difficult situation, having lost Alexei Shved and Jonathan Mickey due to injuries.

In addition, it was reported that the club is experiencing serious financial problems.

“Last summer, I admitted that Mozgov would still play for the yellow-blue in the current season, but I could hardly have imagined that this would happen in such a difficult situation.

Yes, I myself am ready to go out if the coach calls.

Separate respect to the fans!

Their support is needed more than ever, ”noted Pavel Astakhov, General Director of Khimki.