Fernando "fer" Alvarenga has returned to SK Gaming after going on leave in August to undergo ear surgery. fer played with the team in an online qualifier for ECS on Saturday, helping them to win their match against fellow Brazilians paiN Gaming 2-0.

Thanks @paiNGamingBR 2-0

Feels good to be back on track again! Looking forward for this season.

Thanks @SHOOWTiMEGO for everything! Love U<3 — Fernando Alvarenga (@SK_fer) September 10, 2016

Gustavo "SHOOWTiME" Goncalves stood in for fer during his absence, but the roster chose not to play any LANs without their full starting roster, withdrawing from the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 Finals.

In the online games they played without fer, SK struggled to coordinate. On Aug. 31 at ESL Pro League, they lost two best-of-ones to Renegades, 16-12 on Nuke and a complete 16-0 shutout on Dust 2. The team's internal conflicts over that match later became public, when Marcelo "coldzera" David tweeted disparaging remarks about SHOOWTiME. He later apologized via Facebook.

Time to go home, thanks @SKGaming for the opportunity , and welcome back @SK_fer GOD! 👊👊 pic.twitter.com/ihOk2oeKde — Gustavo Gonçalves (@SHOOWTiMEGO) September 10, 2016

fer will play with the team in their upcoming ESL Pro League match against compLexity on Thursday, Sept. 15, and in ELEAGUE's NA closed qualifier on Sept. 14.

Sasha Erfanian is a news editor for theScore esports. Follow him on Twitter, it'll be great for his self-esteem.