Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin is making steady progress in his bid to recover from a serious knee injury.
The Spaniard, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Chelsea back in January, is now able to stand without the support of crutches or a knee brace.
Bellerin has been ruled out for the remainder of the season but has been documenting much of his rehabilitation process on social media and provided an update on Tuesday as he worked on re-building strength in his legs.
The 23-year-old posted a picture on Instagram of him training with a resistance band inside the medical centre at Arsenal's Colney facilities and wrote: 'Feels nice to stand up again.'
Bellerin has remained upbeat despite the prospect of a lengthy layoff which could see him spend up to nine months on the sidelines.
He has been working hard in his recovery after having surgery on the injury in January and even underwent therapy alongside former Napoli winger Ezequiel Lavezzi last month.
Bellerin had been a stalwart in Arsenal's defence, making 19 Premier League appearances before sustaining the injury to his left knee.
His absence has meant Unai Emery has had to delve deep into his resources and rotate his defence around with Shkodran Mustafi playing right-back in Saturday's 1-1 draw against arch-rivals Tottenham.
Despite being without Bellerin Arsenal have managed to cope well, going unbeaten in five of their last six Premier League games and are now just one point off the Champions League places with a clash against fourth-placed Manchester United to come next.
