Former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla played his first game for 363 days when coming off the bench for Villarreal in a pre-season friendly.
As Standard Sport first revealed in May, the La Liga side were keen to give Cazorla a place to rehabilitate before the season began after Arsenal opted not to extend his contract.
Cazorla received a standing ovation at Villarreal's training ground Mini Estadi when coming on for Ramiro Guerra in a 1-1 draw with Hercules.
The 33-year-old last played when Arsenal thrashed Ludogorets 6-0 in the Champions League group stage on October 19, 2016.
Arsene Wenger had previously described Cazorla’s Achilles injury as "the worst I have ever known" but maintained the midfielder would play on.
Cazorla last November revealed the full extent of the problem in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca earlier, claiming he almost had his foot amputated during a period in which he underwent eight operations in a year.
"It is the worst injury I have known, starting with a pain in the Achilles and it has gone from worse to worse.
"I must say I know how much Santi loves to play football and loves to be out there every day and I feel very sorry for what happened to him, because it is unbelievable."
