Evgeny Plushenko skated a clean if unadventurous short program at the European Championships on Thursday, his first international appearance since taking silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Plushenko, nursing a knee injury, opted out of a quadruple jump and instead performed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination to kick off his routine.
He scored 84.71, taking the lead in the early part of the short program.
The competition is part of a comeback trail that Plushenko hopes will culminate in gold at his home Games in Sochi in 2014.
