Ryan O'Neal is recovering after undergoing back surgery

The 76-year-old actor went under the knife last week and is already well on the road to recovery.

He shared a picture of himself adopting a boxer stance while his dogs looked on and wrote on Instagram: "Five days out of surgery... Happy Fourth of July 🇺🇸 #july4th (sic)"

It was announced last month that Ryan's UK tour of his play 'Love Letters' - which also featured his 'Love Story' co-star Ali MacGraw - had been postponed indefinitely because he needed to have the surgery, though it is unclear what the problem was.

David Ian, Producer of 'Love Letters' said at the time: "The UK tour of 'Love Letters' due to open this September, is unfortunately postponed due to Ryan O'Neal requiring back surgery and a period of postoperative recovery. We send Ryan our best wishes and hope he has a speedy recuperation. We advise audiences to contact their point of purchase for further information."

Ryan and Ali had previously appeared in the production on Broadway and across the US on tour.

Meanwhile, Ryan's son Griffin - whose sister is Tatum O'Neal - previously admitted he had to "walk away" from his famous family because they are all so troubled.

He said: "My whole family has been absolutely destroyed to smithereens from drug addiction and alcoholism. The common denominator is drugs and alcohol and depression and it's a never-ending cycle. I had to walk away from all of it. I'm done."

And after not seeing his dad since a 2007 fight, Griffin, 53, had to turn to a GoFundMe campaign last year in a bid to fund his dog Chilly's leg surgery.

The father-of-four wrote: "Last week he jumped off of the bed wrong and busted the cruciate ligament in his left knee, and possibly shattered his meniscus.

"Chilly is part of our family, so there was no question that his knee needs to be repaired. We hoped it was just a sprain but after a few days realized it wasn't going to heal on it's own (sic)"

He added: "Chilly is otherwise healthy, and has many good years left to live."

Source: Bang Showbiz