Star Wildcats guard Damian Martin will make a shock return from a broken jaw in Friday night's crunch NBL clash with New Zealand at Perth Arena.
Martin made a successful comeback to the training court on Thursday in his first major session since undergoing surgery on November 6 to fix his broken jaw.
The elbow he copped from Townsville captain Brian Conklin was so severe that he required two plates to stabilise his jaw, as well as several root canals to fix displaced teeth.
Martin will have to wear a double-pronged mouthguard covering both his upper and lower teeth for the rest of his career if he is to limit the risk of further damage.
The 31-year-old wasn't expected to return to playing duties until around Christmas at the earliest, and coach Trevor Gleeson was initially reluctant to rush him back for Friday's game.
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But there was no stopping Martin once he was given the green light to play by his surgeon on Thursday.
"I met with the surgeon today and he was happy with how I've recovered, how the gums are healing, the strength of the wiring on my teeth," Martin said.
"And he was very satisfied the titanium plates plus the mouthguard will contribute to having a reasonably strong jaw."
The third-placed Breakers are one of the form teams after stringing together three straight wins, but the second-placed Wildcats are also purring.
Gleeson said stopping Corey Webster would be particularly crucial after the NZ star drained 39 points in a recent win against Melbourne United.
Martin's presence will be crucial in halting the influence of Webster and NZ's other scoring stars.
