Zhao, a 1.96-metre (6' 4") spiker, was a driving force in China's rise to global dominance in 2002 and 2003 and powered the team to victory at the 2003 world championships, China's first world title in 17 years.
But she suffered a double fracture of her right leg during training in March and was sidelined for several months.
In her absence, the Chinese team has slumped badly, finishing a disappointing fifth at the 2004 Grand Prix finals last week and sliding to third in the world rankings.
"Zhao has been recovering faster and better than I expected, but she is still on the way to her best," head coach Chen Zhonghe told the Xinhua news agency from Poland.
"I will be very happy if she can play at 70 to 80 percent of her best at the knock-out stage of the Olympics."
The "glass beauty," as Zhao has been dubbed by the Chinese media for her lanky, injury-prone frame, began training again in July and returned to international competition five days ago when China beat Poland 3-0 in an Olympic warm-up match.
"I have been waiting so long for this day. I always thought that when I could finally soar again on the court, I was going to cry. But in the actual match, there was no time for tears and I was filled with joy," she said.
The Chinese women will face a tough preliminary pool that includes the United States, Cuba and Russia.
They, along with the rest of China's massive squad of 407 athletes, arrived in Athens on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials said on Monday that leading basketball player Yao Ming would carry the national flag at Friday's opening ceremony. The volleyball starts on Saturday.
文章比较长，我就不一一翻译了，只取主要内容，敬请原谅．
文章提到蕊蕊是中国女排在２００２和２００３年实力回升，并且取得２００３年世界杯冠军的重要动力．但她在３月份的训练中右脚受伤被迫离开赛场数月．
由于她的缺席，中国女排在刚刚结束的女排大奖赛中只取得了另人失望的第五名，世界排名也跌到了第三位．
然后是引用了多段陈忠和在波兰接受采访的话，以及蕊蕊在波兰回归赛场后讲的那些话．
文章还特别提到了蕊蕊因为身材瘦弱，容易受伤，被中国媒体称为＂glass beauty＂
（玻璃美人）．
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