Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has thanked his fans for their support after revealing images of his treatment for a brain tumour.

The 32-year-old underwent surgery in June of last year but has now completed two months of proton therapy in a bid to completely recover from the rare condition.

Enrique, who also played for Newcastle in the Premier League, took to Instagram to share images of himself undergoing the treatment - and show off the after-effects.

Ex-Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has revealed images of his treatment for a brain tumour

The retired full back has been undergoing proton therapy to try and recover from the condition

Enrique smiles and points to a bald spot on his head alongside partner Amy in Paris recently

BRAIN TUMOURS - THE FACTS A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an abnormal, uncontrollable way. Grades and types of brain tumour Brain tumours are graded according to how fast they grow and how likely they are to grow back after treatment. Grade one and two tumours are low grade, and grade three and four tumours are high grade. There are two main types of brain tumour: • non-cancerous (benign) brain tumours – are low grade (grade one or two), which means they grow slowly and are less likely to return after treatment • cancerous (malignant) brain tumours – are high grade (grade three or four) and either start in the brain (primary tumours) or spread into the brain from elsewhere (secondary tumours); they're more likely to grow back after treatment Information taken from www.nhs.uk Advertisement

The retired left back posted photos of him receiving proton therapy, which is used to help destroy cancerous cells.

He also showed off a bald spot on the top of his head and red marks near his ears after undergoing the specialist treatment for the final time in Paris on Thursday.

In one image Enrique can be seen smiling and pointing to his head with partner Amy in front of the Eiffel Tower, while another picture shows him alongside a fellow patient.

The former Villarreal defender posted an emotional message alongside the images, describing the last two months as 'difficult' while urging other people suffering from illness to 'fight and go through it'.

Enrique wrote: 'Hello guys. First of all thanks so much for all the messages and your support, it has been amazing.

'I just wanted to share with all of you some pictures of what I have been doing for the last two months. It's been difficult I'm not going to lie, not just for me but for my partner Amy and family but I really believe it has helped me in a way to find out about this and fight it because it makes you have other priorities in life.

The former Newcastle star shows off a bald spot on his head as he battles a brain tumour

Enrique was left with red marks near both of his ears following his final proton therapy session

The 32-year-old smiles alongside his partner Amy during New Year's Eve celebrations in Paris

WHAT IS PROTON THERAPY? Proton beam therapy is a type of radiotherapy. Conventional radiotherapy uses high energy beams of radiation to destroy cancerous cells, but surrounding tissue can also be damaged. This can lead to side effects such as nausea, and can sometimes disrupt how some organs function. Proton beam therapy uses beams of protons (sub-atomic particles) to achieve the same cell-killing effect. A "particle accelerator" is used to speed up the protons. These accelerated protons are then beamed into cancerous cells, killing them. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, in proton beam therapy the beam of protons stops once it "hits" the cancerous cells. This means that proton beam therapy results in much less damage to surrounding tissue. Information taken from www.nhs.uk Advertisement

'I just wanted to leave a message for the people that are going through bad times health wise or other problems. It doesn't matter how big the problem is you can fight it and go through it.

'The most important thing is the way you take it and I have really surprised myself how I have reacted going through all of this. Don't believe you can't do something, it doesn't matter how hard it is #WECAN.

'Thanks again for the lovely support.'

Enrique, who had been working for his brother's scouting agency, revealed that he was suffering from a 'rare brain tumour' back in June.

'Sorry I haven't been around much, it has been the toughest few weeks of my life,' he wrote on Instagram.

'Within the space of one month I have found out the news that I have a rare brain tumor (sic) and had surgery to have it removed.

'I am now in recovery and so thankful. Life is too precious.'

Enrique gets a kiss on the cheek from partner Amy after undergoing surgery back in June

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp congratulates Enrique after an FA Cup victory in January, 2016

Enrique, pictured with Wayne Rooney, made his name in the Premier League with Newcastle

ENRIQUE'S CAREER Clubs: Levante, Valencia, Celta Vigo (loan), Villarreal, Newcastle, Liverpool, Real Zaragoza Appearances: 355 Goals: 4 Honours: League Cup (Liverpool, 2011-12) Advertisement

The ex-Real Zaragoza man retired in 2017 and was in London for a meeting with Brighton boss Chris Hughton when he was diagnosed with the tumour.

'We were meeting with Chris Hughton, coach of Brighton and who I had during my time at Newcastle, and that night I was beginning to get annoyed,' he wrote.

'I arrived at the hotel and I thought they were migraines. During the night I had a brutal headache. the next morning I started to have blurry (vision), then I started to see double, I had my eyes open and I saw double.

'I had to go to the emergency room and after nine hours there I had a CT scan. The test indicated that I had a vein and I was sent to St. George's Hospital in London immediately, which specialises in Neurology, and I spent two nights there.

'They were the worst days of my life, I stayed in bed for five days without moving.'