David Haye is making great progress with his Achilles injury after throwing punches for the first time in two months

DAVID HAYE is making great progress with his Achilles injury after throwing punches for the first time in two months.

The Hayemaker, 36, has not been able to let his fists fly since his defeat to fellow Brit Tony Bellew.

He ruptured his tendon in the March bout and needed surgery to fix the issues.

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Many pundits called on the former world champion to retire after the KO.

But today in his gym, Haye has been throwing punches on the heavy bag for the first time.

He said: "First time punching in just over 2 months. Upper felt solid, naturally taking it very easy with lower leg.

"Still a long way to go, but steadily moving in the right direction."

Haye won huge respect for the way he continued to fight on looking for the knock-out against Bellew despite only having the full use of one leg.

His trainer Shane McGuigan eventually threw in the towel in the 11th round in front of an astonished sell-out crowd at London’s O2 Arena.

He expects to be sidelined for up to nine months, but is already targeting a rematch with surprise winner Bellew.