After leaving Dutch club Feyenoord, Wilkshire had been training with Terek Grozny, based in the once war-torn Chechnya province. 

At 34, his career had been in limbo until finalising a one-year deal with the club on Wednesday.

“He was keen to stay on in Europe,” father Mark Wilkshire said.

“There was never really any thought of coming back to Australia, he just wanted to pick up another contract and it has worked out well in Russia.

“He was training with them anyway after coming back from a hamstring strain.

“It would have been easy to find a lower level team, but he’s done a lot of work to stay at the elite level.” 

It is believed the one-year contract has a further one-year option.

The Albion Park product was part of the Socceroos’ golden generation which played at the 2006 World Cup, ending a 32-year Australian drought.

Wilkshire came from then third-tier England club Bristol City to be a shock inclusion in Australia’s win over Japan in Germany.

"It was pretty surreal because I was rooming with Timmy (Cahill) and we all thought he'd start and I'd be on the bench but it turned out to be the other way around," Wilkshire said.

"Guus was such a good coach and he gave me the opportunity which was a major career turning point."

After the recommendation of then Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink, the Wollongong Wolves junior played for FC Twente before leaving the Dutch league to join Dynamo Moscow.

There Wilkshire played in the UEFA (Europa) Cup and the Champions League qualifiers.

While at Dinamo Moscow, Wilkshire played at a second World Cup in 2010 alongside fellow Illawarra and South Coast juniors Scott Chipperfield and Adam Federici.

Wilkshire was also controversially the last man axed from the World Cup squad in Brazil last year.

Part of a 26-man squad in Brazil, Wilkshire missed out on a place in the final 23-man group, even though fellow right-back Ivan Franjic had brought an injury into the tournament.

Franjic tore his hamstring in the opening game against Chile, after Wilkshire had left Brazil. In 2015, Wilkshire returned to the Netherlands with Feyenoord only to fall out-of-favour under new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. 

"There's still a few more years in these legs," Wilkshire told ESPN FC in September.

In 2012, BRW magazine named Wilkshire as Australia's highest paid footballer, with a $US5 million salary and tied for the sixth-richest Australian sports identity. 

New club Terek Grozny are currently seventh on the Russian Premier League standing, three points out of the Europa League qualification positions.

Grozney have been in the top flight since 2008.