Tendayi Darikwa has taken the next step in his comeback from a serious knee injury.
The Nottingham Forest defender is expected to be sidelined for the season having suffered a ruptured ACL having picked up the problem on the eve of the new Championship season.
In what will surely have lifted the 27-year-old’s spirits, Darikwa was captured on video running on a gravity treadmill at Forest’s training facility on Wilford Lane, with the caption "first time" - as he continues his rehabilitation programme.
The 27-year-old was heading into the campaign as Sabri Lamouchi’s first choice defender prior to his injury, ahead of Matty Cash.
Forest then signed Carl Jenkinson from Arsenal following Darikwa’s injury, before a cruel twist of fate saw him pick up an ankle problem which has kept him out since the draw with Preston at the end of August.
Matty Cash has since made the position his own, becoming Lamouchi’s number one choice.
Speaking last month however, Darikwa revealed that he hadn't given up hope of playing again this term.
“It’s a long-term injury, so it’s slow progress. But I’m happy that I am making progress," he said.
“The main thing is just to stay focused on the rehab - do everything that the doctors and the physios are telling me to do.
“Hopefully I can then get back at the back end of the season.
“We haven’t put a timescale on an exact return date just yet, because it’s still so early.
“But I’m hopeful, with a bit of good luck and a lot of hard work, I might get lucky and play a few games."
