World No 1 Novak Djokovic, forced out of the US Open with a shoulder injury, is back in training and will play in Tokyo next week, a member of his press team said. The 32-year-old Serbian star has “started to train and the situation with his shoulder is a bit better,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier this month Djokovic was forced to pull out of his US Open fourth round clash with three-time Slam winner Stan Wawrinka due to a nagging injury in his left shoulder. Serbia’s media quoted Djokovic as saying he had been “training without pain for two days already”.

His return means he could play out the season and hold off a challenge to his No 1 ranking from US Open winner Rafael Nadal. “It makes me very optimistic that I could play until the end of the season as I planned,” Djokovic was quoted as saying.