Grey's Anatomy Alum Returning After An Absence Of 17 (!) Years

It's been a minute — zillions of minutes, in fact — since Grey's Anatomy alum Kali Rocha scrubbed in as Dr. Sydney Heron. But the actress will be appearing in three episodes of the long-running ABC drama when it returns for Season 21 this fall, TVLine has confirmed. 

The indefatigably chipper Sydney was introduced back in Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy as the fourth-year resident who subbed for Bailey in overseeing the interns while she was on maternity leave. Rocha continued to recur for the following two seasons, during which she even went on a date with McDreamy himself. (Spoiler alert: A match was not made.)

Rocha's return, which our sister site Deadline first reported, comes at a time of great change for the series. Season 21, which premieres Thursday, Sept. 26, at 10/9c, will see the exits of both Jake Borelli (Levi) and Midori Francis (Mika), the entrance of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist alum Michael Thomas Grant (as James, Grey Sloan's new gay chaplain) and an increased presence for Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) and Scott Speedman (Nick).

Check out the above photo gallery to review everything we know so far about Grey's Anatomy Season 21.