Malaysian badminton ace Lee Chong Wei made his return to the badminton court for the first time on Monday morning since recovering from nose cancer.

The 36-year-old turned up at the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM) at 8:15am and underwent routine training for two hours on the court before continuing his training at the gymnasium for another two hours.

After his training, he said he wanted to focus on regaining his fitness and muscular strength before raising his on-court training intensity.

"For the time being, the doctor has only allowed me to undergo light training or at a 30 per cent level of normal training which I did previously.

"I will increase the difficulty of my training gradually depending on suitability because I feel the skill is already there and I only need to get back my strength and fitness.

"I have discussed with coach Hendrawan and Datuk Misbun Sidek to focus on gym training to build muscles and strength due to loss of muscular strength since several months ago," he said when met by reporters after training.

The three-time Olympics silver medal winner also admitted that the court felt quite big upon stepping foot on it for the first time since July.

"I felt the court was quite big, which was quite normal as I was entering it after five or six months.

"I feel I need a little bit more time for everything to return to normal. For starters, I will only train three or four times a week," he added.

Lee started his training last Friday via a recovery session at the ABM gymnasium, his first since being diagnosed with stage one nose cancer in July.

His last tournament appearance was when he lost to Kento Momota of Japan, who is now the number one in the world, in the semi-finals of the Indonesian Open in the same month.

After undergoing almost four months of treatment in Taiwan, Lee was confirmed to have fully recovered from his ailment.

Meanwhile, national men’s singles coach Hendrawan was happy and proud with Lee's spirit.

However, he said Lee needed a little bit more time to get back his touch before he could start thinking about playing in tournaments.

"I am happy and proud of him. Surely, his determination to return is something very positive.

"His skill will not disappear but as he has not been training for a long time, it will be tough at the outset. It is normal, and things will be back to normal in one or two months," said Hendrawan.