Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will return to the court at this month's Miami Open after recuperating from a muscle tear suffered during his Australian Open title defence.
The 33-year-old Serbian suffered the injury during the third-round win over Taylor Fritz at Melbourne Park.
And despite the injury not stopping him clinching a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam, Djokovic confirmed a scan of his abdomen had revealed he had made the injury worse by playing on.
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At the time, Djokovic said: "The damage is bigger than what it was when it happened, when I did the first MRI after the third round.
"It's a muscle tear of the abdominal oblique muscle - it's not too bad judging by what the doctor said but I'll have to take some time off and heal.
"I felt it right away when it happened against Fritz in the third round. That's what I said in the post-match interview. I was kind of guessing, but I felt just that it's a tear because of the snap and the way I felt after that."
However, according to a partial schedule posted on his official website, Djokovic is entered for the ATP Masters 1000 event on the hardcourts in Miami from March 22-April 4.
It is the first of three events he will play in before heading to Europe for the claycourt swing ahead of the French Open at the end of May.
From Miami, where he has won six titles, Djokovic will head to Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Masters, running from April 11-18, before returning home to Belgrade for the ATP 250 Serbia Open.
The Tour is returning to Belgrade for the first time since 2012, and the Serbia Open will be held at Djokovic's tennis center from April 19-25.
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