Fenerbahce defender Egemen Korkmaz is close to making a return to first team football after spending 8 months on the sidelines with an injury.

Egemen suffered a knee injury in the final game of last season and had to undergo surgery.

The 32-year-old centre back has returned to first team training this week however, manager Ismail Kartal has stated that he will slowly ease Egemen back into the team over the coming weeks.

Egemen has won one Turkish Super League title and one Turkish cup title since his arrival at Fenerbahce from Besiktas on a free transfer. The experienced defender was part of the Fenerbahce squad which reached the UEFA Europa League semi final in 2013.

The former Bursaspor and Trabzonspor player made 21 appearances for Fenerbahce last season.

Egemen’s contract with Fenerbahce runs out at the end of this season.

Fenerbahce travel to Bursaspor in the 10th round of the Turkish Super League next weekend.