Robert De Niro spotted without brace for first time after leg injury

Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro appears to be doing better after suffering a leg injury while on the location of Martin Scorsese's upcoming directorial venture 'Killers of the Flower Moon' earlier this year.

As per Page Six, the veteran actor was spotted masked up and walking around Tribeca on Saturday. He was seen wearing a blue cap, a brown collared shirt and cargo pants.

It's the first time since his accident that he has been captured without a leg brace. A close-up picture of his leg shows a massive scar across his knee.

Page Six confirmed in May that De Niro was in Oklahoma filming for Scorsese's movie at the time, but the accident did not occur on the set.

"While at his on-location home in Oklahoma for the filming of Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro injured his quadriceps muscle, which will be treated medically in New York," De Niro's representative told the outlet at the time.

The rep had also added that the injury would not affect the production schedule of the Western true-crime thriller, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio.

De Niro had earlier told IndieWire of the injury, "I tore my quad somehow ... [It was] just a simple stepping over something and I just went down. The pain was excruciating and now I have to get it fixed. But it happens, especially when you get older, you have to be prepared for unexpected things."

The movie is based on David Grann's 2017 nonfiction book, 'Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI'.

The film, which also stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Gladstone, is set in 1920s Oklahoma against the backdrop of the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

In the upcoming film, De Niro will play the role of powerful rancher William Hale, while DiCaprio will essay the part of his nephew, Ernest Burkhart.

Gladstone, who was raised on the Blackfeet Reservation in northwestern Montana and comes from the Kainai (Blood), Amskapi Piikani (Blackfeet), and Niimiipuu (Nez Perce) Tribal Nations, portrays an Osage Nation community member married to Ernest. Plemons will play Tom White, the lead FBI agent investigating the murders.

Production on the highly anticipated film began in April after being delayed for a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Scorsese is directing and producing 'Killers of the Flower Moon' for Apple Studios and Imperative Entertainment. Producing alongside Scorsese are Imperative's Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas and DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions.

( With inputs from ANI )