Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has played his first football in over 400 days, scoring a goal as the club's reserves beat Bochum 2-0 on Friday, local paper Ruhr Nachrichten reported.
Gundogan, 23, last played for Dortmund in August 2013, when a back injury halted the momentum that had seen him linked with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
It had initially been hoped that he could recover from the injury without the need for surgery, but he had an operation in June and returned to team training last month.
He was finally able to make his comeback in the behind-closed-doors match on Friday, with the match also seeing the return of Marco Reus, who had been out with injury problems since early September.
"They both looked really good, especially when you consider that Ilkay Gundogan has not played in 422 days," Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc told the paper. "But it was only a first test, and we should not overstate it now."
Dortmund are 13th in the Bundesliga with only seven points from seven games, but have won both their matches in the Champions League.