Derby County captain Richard Keogh has been pictured on crutches for the first time since being involved in a horror car crash that could have ended his career.
Keogh has been ruled out of action for 15 months with an ACL injury after being involved in the car crash last month.
But the 33-year-old was in attendance at Pride Park on Wednesday night to watch his team-mates beat Wigan Athletic 1-0.
The Irishman was rescued by paramedics who found him unconscious, and the 33-year-old suffered a potentially career-threatening injury to his knee.
A Range Rover, driven by team-mate Tom Lawrence, slammed into a tree after colliding with a stationary Mercedes SUV and Keogh was a passenger in the back alongside an 18-year-old academy player.
Lawrence and team-mate Mason Bennett, who was driving the car that collided with the Range Rover, were spared a custodial sentence as the judge at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court ordered them to complete community service.
The collision took place on the A6 near Allestree, Derby when Bennett stopped at a road junction.
All three players from the Championship side had been at a bonding session arranged by the club and were said to have spent hours boozing at a pub after the official dinner ended.
Keogh's playing career has been put in serious doubt given he will not return to action until December 2020. But his appearance on Wednesday night has raised hope he can make a recovery.
He will have just three months left on his deal with the club when he makes his return and boss Phillip Cocu revealed that the skipper feels 'extremely down' about the whole situation.
'I've spoken to him. He was here [at the training ground] for a short moment and I spoke briefly to him because there's a lot going on,' Cocu told Sky Sports recently.
'He's extremely down, of course, because he realises what's going on for him personally and of course as a responsible player, as captain, to not be part of the team any more does something to you. I think he feels responsible, yeah.
'The more senior players always have to step up and take responsibility and it's now had a huge effect on him personally. It's a lot to deal with for him.'
Wednesday night's dramatic late win, after Graeme Shinnie netted deep in stoppage time, will have gone some way to lifting Keogh's spirits.
Victory took the Rams to 14th in the Championship and four points off the play-off places after 13 games.