Champion basketballer Lauren Jackson will bounce into her WNBL comeback with the "enthusiasm of a schoolgirl", but coach Carrie Graf has warned that the four-time Olympian is not ready to carry the Canberra Capitals.
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Jackson is finally back and has been given medical clearance to join the Capitals in Adelaide on Friday night, ending 11 months of injury frustration and uncertainty about her career.
It will be the first game she has played for Canberra since winning the 2009-10 WNBL grand final and the first game of a three-season contract she signed in 2011, which committed her to three years between 2012-16.
The 33-year-old is on limited game time for the clash against Adelaide, but she won't join the team in Perth for the last leg of its road trip before Christmas.
Adding to the occasion is Jackson's comeback will double as Kristen Veal's 350th match, as the duo return to the Adelaide stadium where they combined to lift Canberra to its first championship 14 years ago.
Jackson's stunning career has been hampered by injuries for the past two years, including five operations on her hip and knee since January.
"I never doubted she'd be back," Graf said. "Yes there have been some hiccups along the way but Lauren's got [the] great enthusiasm of a schoolgirl who's about to play for the first time.
"She's excited and nervous and I think that speaks for her as an elite athlete. Her body is still there, it's [just] a little bit damaged after years of wear and tear.
"She'll give us some juice and a lift, but this isn't about Lauren Jackson and the team jumping on her back. It's about getting some confidence back and wetting her feet."
Jackson was on track to play her first game last weekend before her knee started to swell up after a training session.
Jackson's short-term goal is to be fit enough to help lead the Capitals into the WNBL finals.
Her long-term ambition is to be a part of the Opals' Olympic Games campaign in Rio in 2016.
Jackson and Veal were starting their basketball journeys when they joined the Capitals for the 1999-2000 season.
Veal was judged the grand final's most valuable player in the 1999-2000 season, linking with Jackson to start a dynasty in Canberra that had the club win six more titles.
"Loz [Jackson] is super excited about her first game, quietly I was thinking it was exciting to play my 350th with her because we played our first WNBL game together when we were 15," Veal said.
"There's a little bit of breath holding ... her limited minutes will still be extremely valuable for us. She's not done with basketball yet.
"Getting back is what drives her and sparks her. It will be a lot of weight off her shoulders. At times we feel like the veterans and we're a bit cranky. But it feels like old times, we're like big kids and who will never change."
Veal is returning to action after having surgery to remove a screw, a staple and a piece of loose bone from her knee.
The Capitals face a brutal road trip before the Christmas break, taking on Adelaide before leaving Jackson and flying to Perth to play the West Coast Waves.
The Capitals will play on Friday night in Adelaide and fly to Perth at 6.30am on Saturday, just 14 hours before the game against the Waves.
WNBL ROUND 10
Friday: Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Adelaide Arena, 5.30pm.
Saturday: West Coast Waves v Canberra Capitals at WA Basketball Centre, 9.30pm.
