Russian figure skater Yevgeny Plushenko made good on his word, returning to practice Thursday for the first time since post-Olympics back surgery.
Plushenko is working to skate in commercial ice shows, according to The Associated Press, and his agent said returning to training after March surgery was “like learning from zero.”
Plushenko’s agent did not commit to the four-time Olympic medalist competing again, though.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Ari Zakarian told the AP. Zakarian said in April that Plushenko, “loves to compete and after another surgery will try again.”
Plushenko, 31, announced his retirement after withdrawing before the men’s event at the Sochi Olympics due to his injured back. Earlier in the Olympics, Plushenko helped Russia to gold in the new team event, making him the only modern figure skating medalist at four straight Olympics.
Five days later, Plushenko left open the possibility of returning in comments on Russian TV, according to Reuters. He later had back surgery in March, with RIA Novosti reporting a recovery process of at least six months.
“If need be, I’ll have another 10 operations … I’m not ruling out that I’ll go for a fifth Olympic Games,” he said in February. “I am not ruling out that I want stay in sports, to prove [something] to many [people] and myself.”
