BERLIN: Manuel Neuer received a pre-World Cup boost on Tuesday as Germany's captain and goalkeeper returned to light training after six months sidelined by a fractured foot.
Neuer celebrated his 32nd birthday with a few laps around Bayern Munich's training ground in two 10-minute sessions.
Neuer posted a video on his Facebook account of him stepping out to training with the caption "Wonderful! The first time out..."
Less than three months before the World Cup kicks-off, it is good news for Germany head coach Joachim Loew as die Mannschaft prepare to face Brazil in Berlin on Tuesday in a friendly.
This is the first time Neuer has trained on the pitch at Bayern's Saebener Strasse ground since surgery last September after fracturing his foot for the second time in 2017.
Bayern were certainly glad to see their captain back after such a long absence.
"Go Manu, it's your birthday. Another step on the road to recovery," the club wrote on their official Twitter account.
Neuer had good news from an MRI scan last Friday which gave him the green light to start running again. Bayern have not given a date as to when Germany's captain will return to playing. The Germans start their World Cup defence against Mexico in Moscow on June 17.