Former Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard has returned to the training pitch just 12 days after undergoing surgery on his knee.
Lingard – who completed a surprise move to South Korean side FC Seoul in February – underwent a procedure on his meniscus earlier this month.
The former United star shared a photo of himself swaddled under sheets in a hospital bed with two fingers thrown up in a peace sign, claiming it was a success.
His manager, Kim Gi-dong, confirmed that Lingard would be out of action for a month while recovering from the procedure.
Therefore, fans were surprised to see Lingard back out on the training pitch just 12 days after the surgery took place.
Former Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard (above) has returned to the training pitch just 12 days after undergoing surgery on his knee (right)
The 31-year-old shared several photos from a rehab session with the FC Seoul coaching staff on Wednesday afternoon.
The images showed Lingard jogging across the pitch and playing around with a football on the side of the pitch.
Lingard – who was seen executing some keepy-uppies – captioned the post: ‘Progressing quickly, 12 days post operation.’
Lingard completed a surprise move to South Korean side FC Seoul in February, but has struggled to hit the heights expected of him.
His home debut set an attendance record for the K-League as 51,670 fans turned out to watch FC Seoul’s derby game against Incheon United.
However, the 31-year-old is yet to find the net or provided an assist during his 103 minutes at the club so far.
Kim Gi-dong has also hit out at the former Manchester United star for his effort on the pitch – claiming he ‘avoided the tussle’ against Jeju.
After Lingard came on against Jeju, Kim said: ‘Even though he came on as a substitute, he didn’t work hard and avoided tussle.’
Kim Gi-dong (above) has previously criticised what he sees as Lingard’s lack of work ethic
The Seoul FC manager went on to add: ‘The name value has no meaning on the pitch. I will tell him this exactly.’
Lingard appeared to hit back on social media, sharing a quote that read: ‘I can’t lie, this s*** gets overwhelming but I just keep pushing.’
In his own words in the Instagram caption, he added: ‘Accept what it is, let go of what it was and have faith in what it will be. P.S. we back on the grass.’
He still has a long time to come back from injury and make an impact this campaign as the South Korean season runs from March to November.
