Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic admits it was painful for him to watch his side from the sidelines while mending his way back from injury.

The Serbia international has missed a bulk of the campaign and managed to feature only five times this campaign after picking up a knee injury in September last year.

Nurkovic has since returned to training with Chiefs and could potentially make his long-awaited return when Amakhosi welcome TS Galaxy to the FNB Stadium on Saturday for their opening Nedbank Cup match.

“I’m really happy to finally be back with the boys on the field,” Nurkovic told the club’s media department. “We are working hard preparing for the next match in the Nedbank Cup and I think we are ready.

“I am still working hard to get in the best possible shape, where I used to be, and it requires a lot of work but I will be there soon.

“As I said, I’m really happy to finally be back. It was painful watching all these games from the sidelines or on the TV.

“I can’t wait to be back and I can’t wait to have our faithful Amakhosi fans back in the stands.”