Djokovic and Wawrinka confirm return date

Two of the biggest names in tennis have confirmed they will be back on the court soon following injury-enforced breaks.

Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka will take part in the exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship in December, the Abu Dhabi tournament organisers announced on Tuesday.

Both men missed the US Open after elbow and knee injuries respectively, with Wawrinka undergoing surgery in August.

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Djokovic had a horror 2017 by his recent standards, losing in the second round of the Australian Open before falling in the quarter-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

"The line-up is very strong as always and it will be the perfect way to make my comeback and begin the season," Djokovic said in a statement.

Wawrinka, coming off victory over Djokovic in the 2016 US Open final, reached the Australian Open semi-finals and French Open final in 2017.

But a knee injury bothered the Swiss in first-round losses at Queen's and Wimbledon, which led to pulling the pin on his season early.

"My recovery is going well and I can’t wait to be back on court. I’m working hard together with my team and looking forward to being back," he said.

Wawrinka ditched the crutches in late September: