Nick Kyrgios' medical team are growing in confidence that the Canberra tennis star is close to making his comeback from injury after an arduous period where he's played just one match in nearly a year and a half.
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Kyrgios shared a positive update on Instagram about his wrist injury, filming part of a session with his physiotherapist Will Maher working on his arm.
"Progress been real! I'll be back smacking people around soon," Kyrgios wrote in a caption.
Maher told The Canberra Times that Kyrgios has turned a corner in the last two months, treating his rehab "like a job" and doing multiple gym and treatment sessions a day between Sydney and the capital as he inches closer to a much-anticipated return to the court.
The timing of that return remains uncertain though.
"He's putting in some serious hours," Maher said.
"He's six months post having his wrist surgery, and he's been essentially cleared by all the medical specialists to progress as his body will let him.
"What he doesn't want is to set a timeframe, create pressure, anxiety, and stress, and get out there when he's not ready.
"He told me, 'I'm not going to rush it. I'm going to do everything I can to get right and when I feel ready, I'm going to play.'
"He seems very committed and the amount of work he's putting in the moment, it's outrageous."
Maher revealed that Kyrgios explored all non-surgical options before going under the knife last year.
He consulted four specialists including a US surgeon who had worked on NBA and NFL players.
Kyrgios landed on having the surgery in Australia, and spent six weeks in a plaster cast and a rigid brace for a further six weeks.
He's slowly been able to increase his rehab workload with his wrist now pain-free and more stable, but the biggest challenge has been regaining mobility, which is a necessity for Kyrgios with his technique.
"He had a super stiff and very weak wrist," Maher said.
"I've been able to incorporate basketball into his rehab now, so dribbling the basketball and shooting has been the best way to get his wrist moving.
"You can't put someone back into tennis too soon with Nick's technique, who is very wristy, with a lot of topspin and flick with his service action. If we put him back before he has that right, he'll compensate and hurt something else."
Maher said he's seen Kyrgios show more maturity through his recent injury hurdles, with the 28-year-old getting up early, creating good routines, and he even held himself back from gaming after his surgery.
"He's been pretty guarded with it and didn't want to hurt his wrist again," the physiotherapist explained.
"At this stage you can see he's got a bit more confidence, and that he can feel like he's near the light at the end of the tunnel.
"He's had two knee surgeries and a wrist surgery now and to see his headspace the last two months ... he's attacked this like an unbelievable professional.
"It's actually been really impressive compared to the early years where you couldn't get him to use a piece of theraband."
Kyrgios does face a ticking clock on the expiry of his protected ranking of world No.21, believed to last only until March 4.
If he doesn't play before that point, his comeback could be much harder, and force him to rely on wildcards to enter tournaments and earn ranking points to climb back into the top 100.
Maher said Kyrgios has not expressed any concern about that though, and is more focused on coming back when his wrist is fully recovered.
"All those things, ranking, protected rankings, it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all," Maher said.
"He's like, 'When I feel like I can compete at a high level again I'll play, so there's no point circling the US Open or Wimbledon'.
"If he gets himself into the position where he's competitive again, results will take care of themselves - that's his mentality.
"If he needs to get wildcards, he's feels confident he will and if he's playing at the level he's capable of, I don't think it will take him very long to climb up."