Thimmaiah (left most), with Raghunath and Sunil. The latter two were part o the bronze medal winning squad

Indian men’s hockey team forward Nikkin Thimmaiah successfully underwent a surgery on his troubled right shoulder, which forced him to miss the three-test series against Australia and the Hockey World League Final Round.

The nippy 24-year-old forward, who last played for Indian team in the New Zealand test series, is going about the necessary rehab in pursuit of making a comeback to the national fold. “I had the surgery done on my right shoulder. The surgery went off well and although there is still pain when I raise my hand up, I hope to recover in the coming weeks. It will take a month or so before I start hitting the training drills,” Nikkin says, in an informal chat.

Nikkin, who scored a magnificent hat-trick against world champions Australia in India’s 4-2 win in the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, can realistically look towards marking a return to competitive action only in 2016 at the Hero Hockey India League.

“The 2016 Hero Hockey India League should be my comeback tournament. I might miss the first four or five matches of Dabang Mumbai’s campaign in the HIL,” he adds.

The CAG employee added that making comebacks from injury is never easy. “Injured-induced comebacks are tough, there is no doubt about that. I will have to stay extra motivated and work even harder than before if I want to have a successful comeback. There is competition in the side, which is good for the team and I strive hard for a comeback,” he makes his point.

Nikkin is delighted to see the Indian team showing a lot of fight in the three three-Tests against Australia and at the Hockey World League Final Round. “It’s disappointing not to be part of the team that is doing so well – I’m really happy to see my team win the bronze medal in a FIH tournament after a gap of 33 years – the boys have really toughed it out,” he quips.

Nikkin was replaced by Talwinder Singh, who plays for Delhi Waveriders in the Hero Hockey India League.