[17] Though he would return to conditioning work quickly, the ongoing injury rehabilitation would limit his skills and contact training into the start of the 2018 calendar year.

[26] Markov made a return to running and conditioning in mid-August and to competitive football in Richmond's losing VFL qualifying final against Williamstown in September.

[27][28] He recorded 15 disposals in the match and repeated the effort with a further 15 in the club's knock-out semi-final loss to the Essendon reserves side the following week.

[30][9] After rebuilding some of his muscle mass lost during injury rehabilitation in the year prior, Markov spent the 2018/19 off-season developing his defensive skills in order to complement his rebounding abilities.

[31] In February he missed some training due to a minor knee complaint but recovered in time to feature in each of the club's two official pre-season matches in March.

[32][33][34] Despite showing improvements on his output from his last AFL match two years prior, he was unable to gain selection in round 1's season opener against Carlton.

[37][38] While an initial diagnosis suggested a recovery time of six to eight weeks, a highly successful surgical operation allowed to Markov to return to VFL football within four.

[43][44] In early July, AFL released GPS data identified Markov as the fastest player in the league that season, having achieved a top sprint speed of 37.4 kilometres per hour in round 2's loss to Collingwood.

[46] Markov continued to play as a forward through the final five matches of the VFL home and away season, earning regular praise from head coach Craig McRae while kicking a total of eight goals.

[50][51][52] Markov kicked one goal for the Richmond VFL side that defeated Williamstown the following week, as the club won its first reserves grade premiership since 1997.

[9][55] Markov trained as a small forward in the 2019/20 off-season, continuing the role he had played in during the final months of the previous year's VFL season.

[57][58] After recording just four disposals, Markov was dropped back to reserves level to play in a VFL practice match in the first week March, before the remainder of that league's pre-season was cancelled due to safety concerns as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.

[70][71][72] In late-July, Markov made a return to half-back in a mixed-club practice match on the Gold Coast, following the relocation of all Victorian teams to Queensland due to a virus outbreak in Melbourne.

[77] He was given another AFL opportunity in round 12, putting in 14 disposals and 371 metres gained in a win over Gold Coast that saw him retain his spot the following week.

[84][85][86][87] After media reports named him as potential trade target for Gold Coast during the finals series, Markov entered the 2020/21 off-season with an uncertain future.

[95] After initially appearing to lose out on the Collingwood list position, Markov agreed to train with Carlton in the hope of winning a spot there.

[100] Markov plays as a rebounding half back, utilising exceptional sprint speeds to set up offensive chains of possession.