THE wait is over for Rhys Martin.

Nine months after suffering a serious knee injury, the Wollongong Hawks court general officially returns to action in this weekend's home and away trials against arch rivals Sydney.

Wollongong meet the Kings tonight at Sutherland and again on Sunday afternoon at the Snakepit.

The Hawks tip off the 2013-14 NBL season on the road against three-time reigning champions New Zealand on October 10.

"I'm going to play Friday and see how I go, and the plan is to back up on Sunday and play a few more minutes to get ready for New Zealand," Martin said.

"It feels good. The recovery's been good, it's been pretty quick. I haven't had any setbacks, so that's the most you can ask for."

Martin will never forget January 11, 2013.

That was the day he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a home game against Cairns.

The 27-year-old guard followed all the rules and advice during the rehabilitation period and is looking forward to playing again.

"You can't really replicate the speed of the game in training, and that's kind of what I'm missing right now, just that benefit of a couple of games before we play the defending champions in the first game," he said.

"[Coach] Gordie's [McLeod] been holding me back because he doesn't want me to do too much and re-injure it.

"It's good to build that team chemistry in the preseason, but if you get an injury and can't play throughout the year, then that hurts, so Gordie's just been holding the reins in a bit."

Martin is keen to develop his on-court chemistry with American guard Rotnei Clarke.

"Rotnei's probably a bit different to what we've had in the past compared to [former imports] Gary Ervin and Ty McKee," he said.

"Those guys were penetrators, where he's more of a shooter."