PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan said Tuesday he was very happy that he could come back and has the chance to defend his title at PyeongChang.

The defending champion injured his leg three months ago in the NHK Trophy and just recovered in time for the Olympics.

"I wasn't exactly thinking about whether I can come back or not. After NHK Trophy, after the injury, I wanted to get painkillers and skate. But my ankle was not moving. After two months I still had some difficulty in skating," Hanyu said at a press conference.

"There was a time when I was wondering if I can recover completely. But I can skate now and that is the most important. In the past many negative thoughts came to my mind, but now I am sitting in front of this media and I'm giving you good news, not bad news and that is very important. I'm happy that I can come back and perform. I want to show that this is my dream stage and want to give my dream performance," he added.

The figure skating men's singles event will start with the short program on Friday.