"I'm happy my body has recovered" - Takeru reveals the extent of gruesome injuries he suffered in five-round war versus Superlek

The gruesome photo of Takeru Segawa's leg in the aftermath of their ONE 165 firefight pretty much sums up the physical toll his body went through.

It took a while for 'The Natural Born Crusher' to return to the world's largest martial arts organization, as he needed time to mend the battle scars he endured against 'The Kicking Machine' last January.

Now back to 100 percent, Takeru is eager to show his world-class striking at ONE Friday Fights 81, where he'll slug it out with Myanmar's Thant Zin on Sept. 27 at the fabled halls of Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking in a ONE Championship interview, Takeru revealed that apart from the nasty bruising he endured, he also dealt with issues in his knee and thigh muscle that put him on the sidelines for quite some time.

He said:

"It feels like 8 months have already passed. It went by so quickly. I fractured my knee and tore my thigh muscle in the January fight. The time it took to rebuild my body from there went by quickly. I'm happy that my body has recovered to the point where I can fight again."

But through hard work and sheer determination, Takeru is back to his old self and seems even deadlier than before.

Catch the Japanese superstar's highly-awaited return at ONE Friday Fights 81, which will air live in Asian primetime via watch.onefc.com.

Takeru says a win at ONE Friday Fights 81 sets him up for career-defining fights

Despite falling short in his ONE debut, Takeru knows winning his next bout puts him right back on the radar of the promotion's two biggest stars.

While 'The Natural Born Crusher' still wants to avenge that setback to Superlek, he also came to ONE with hopes of fighting one of the promotion's biggest names in Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

The Team Vasileus man said in the same interview:

“This is my comeback fight and my second ONE fight, so I really want my first win in ONE. Regardless of who the opponent is, I just need to win so I can get back to the position to fight Superlek or Rodtang [Jitmuangnon].”