Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer in history, who has been dealing with a foot injury for almost exactly a year, confirmed his return to competition for the sixth leg of the tour, the JBay Open, whose waiting period begins on July 2 and extends until the 13th.

It was at Jeffreys where, while freesurfing last year, he suffered the injury that kept him out of the water for a long time.

According to the WSL, Slater will face Kanoa Igarashi and Italo Ferreira in her Round 1 series.

Referring to everything that happened, the 11-time champion said: “For me this injury was always a platform to overcome myself and reset my mind and body.

Slater has been heavily criticised in recent months for competing in the first open event in his pool (which he almost won) and then not going to Brazil or Keramas, but he did surf one of the heaviest swells in recent years in Fiji.

With Caio Ibelli and John John Florence injured, and there being two wildcard spots in 2019, Slater surely saw a risk in continuing on vacation and decided to return.

Miguel Pupo and Wiggolly Dantas will take to the water in place of the aforementioned athletes. The other athlete who seems set to make history is Mikey Wright, who sits in seventh position in the rankings and has everything to become the first wildcard to qualify for the CT as such.