Anderson Silva vowed to return stronger, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is showing strong signs that he could make a comeback later this year.

Over a month since sustaining a gruesome leg injury, Silva is now back in the gym preparing for his eventual return, probably later this year or early next year.

FrontRowBrian posted a photo on his Instagram account on Thursday showing Silva doing some work on weights as part of the strengthening part of his rehabilitation from surgery that repaired a broken fibula and tibia in his left leg.

The photo showing Silva standing without crutches was captioned: "Anderson Silva, back in the gym already, on his feet.

UFC president Dana White recently said that the 38-year-old Brazilian is doing very well in his recovery from the broken leg injury he sustained during his UFC 168 rematch with Chris Weidman.

According to White, Silva will be able to walk soon without crutches and could undergo intensive training within six months, which means that the mixed martial arts legend could be back fighting inside the Octagon by the end of the year. White pointed out that the broken leg injury heals faster compared to ligament damage.

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"He'll be walking before the end of the month without crutches, he'll be training in less than six months and he'll fight before the end of this year," White said. "So if you blow your ACL out, you're out for a year and three months. You break your leg in half; you're back before the end of the year,"

While White sounded confident that the former undisputed middleweight champion will be fully ready by the end of the year, UFC analyst and commentator Joe Rogan expressed fear that a return this year could put Silva in serious danger.

Rogan said that the fighter considered as the greatest of all time should make sure that his leg is fully healed and strong enough to withstand serious impact, adding that his opponents will surely prepare hard checking Silva's kicks.

"Dana is a promoter," Rogan said in an interview with Opie & Anthony Show. "He wants him to fight by the end of the year, and Anderson wants to fight too, but there's real danger of that thing breaking again."

Silva is looking for another rematch with Weidman, while the long-proposed boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. could also materialize before his UFC comeback.