Little over a month ago, Emma Raducanu posted photographs on Instagram in which she was wearing a protective boot on her left foot.
Questions were naturally raised about whether the ligament injury would rule her out of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which have got under way this week in Malaga.
Given her history of physical issues, and the defiant manner in which she makes her own decisions even if they are viewed unfavourably from the outside, you would not have predicted with complete certainty she would be alongside her Great Britain team-mates.
Yet Raducanu is present at the 12-nation women’s team event and talking optimistically about her fitness.
The expectation is the British number two will play in Friday’s first-round tie against Germany, which takes place at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), even if British captain Anne Keothavong is clutching her cards close to her chest.
“You’ll find out the line-up at 4pm tomorrow,” said Keothavong.
Can Raducanu help maintain Britain’s winning formula?
If Raducanu is picked against Germany as expected, she will be tasked with putting her team ahead in the three-match tie before Katie Boulter plays in the second singles match.
It has been a winning formula. Raducanu and Boulter won three of their four singles matches as GB beat France in April’s qualifier.
Boulter, ranked 24th in the world, is the nation’s leading player, with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls completing the team in Spain.
Raducanu, though, has not played since 21 September when she retired from her Korea Open quarter-final against Daria Kasatkina, but on Thursday she insisted she was ready.
“I’m in a place where I feel good and confident to give it my all if I’m to be on the match court,” said Raducanu, who is “in discussions” about bringing Naomi Osaka’s former fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura into her team.
“I’ve been training in the last three weeks on it, properly building up and last week I was throwing myself around the court. It’s feeling good.
“I’m happy to be in this position especially because it did take longer than we think. I feel really fit.”
Raducanu has played just 33 matches this year after returning from the wrist and ankle surgeries which ruled her out of most of last season.
There have been moments of encouragement on her climb back into the world’s top 60, but plenty of patience has also been required.
As she recovered from the foot problem, Raducanu used the time away from the match court to “detach”.
She spent quality time with her grandma who lives in China, brushed up her skills on the piano and read a stack of books.
The mind is rested. But will the body be sharp?
“Sharpness is something which comes with matches and although I haven’t played in a while, it will be good to find out,” said Raducanu, who lamented not playing enough matches before her painful US Open first-round exit in August.
“On the practice court and practice points, I feel sharp and pretty good.
“I don’t feel too far behind even though the second half of the season I have been a lot lighter on tournaments.”
Team depth and spirit – the key to British hopes
From her relative solitude, Raducanu has been thrust back into the energetic team environment.
With Malaga at the centre of severe flooding on Wednesday, the British squad were unable to leave their hotel as heavy rain hit the Andalusian city.
That day also marked Raducanu’s 22nd birthday. She woke up to balloons and banners outside her door, before she was presented with a candlelit chocolate cake.
Forging a tight bond among the team has been a key tactic for Keothavong as Britain aim to win the BJK Cup for the first time, as well as being able to choose from her strongest available squad.
Boulter, 28, is full of confidence after a successful seven-week stint in Asia, where she reached the Tokyo semi-finals before going a step further by finishing runner-up in Hong Kong.
Dart, 28, has reached a career-high ranking of 59 recently on the strength of reaching the Wimbledon third round, while 32-year-old Watson remains a dependable presence.
Nicholls, 30, has enjoyed a rise up the doubles rankings and provides an alternative if Keothavong decides not to keep faith in Dart and Watson as her pairing.
“I’ve got my five best players out here,” Keothavong said.
“I take confidence in the fact that I feel this team is as well prepared as possible. They’re excited to be here. They really want to go out there and play.
“I do believe we are a team that can win this competition.”
