Following several months of rehabilitation, Langkow was cleared for light skating by a neck specialist, allowing him to begin practicing with his Flames teammates at the end of February 2011, though he was still considered 2–3 months away from being able to continue his career. He joined the Flames for full practices a couple weeks later, and by mid March – nearly one year to the day of his injury – Langkow expressed hope that he would be able to return to action prior to the end of the season. That hope became reality late in the year as he was activated off injured reserve by the Flames, who announced he would return to the lineup for an April 1 game against the St. Louis Blues, 376 days and 88 games after he suffered the injury.