After nearly a month of social media silence, former One Direction member Zayn Malik has tweeted for the first time since his departure from the group in the middle of the South East Asian leg of their world tour.

“Wanna say thanks to everyone that's been there for me over the last few weeks,” he wrote. “Love you all.. you know who you are x.” Nothing too profound or revelatory, but it’s a sign that the 22 year old is ready to re-engage with the world and, perhaps, some word of solo material.

Zayn MalikZayn Malik at the Asian Awards with his mother

Malik was seen in public recently, attending the Asian Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London last Friday. He was there to pick up an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and sported a new shaved hairstyle at the event, in contrast the long hair and parting he had when he quit the group.

More: Zayn Malik debuts new hairstyle during his first post-One Direction appearance at Asian Awards [pictures]

Monday’s tweet was the first he had sent since denying allegations that he had been cheating on his fiancée Perrie Edwards. Having been photographed chatting to a holidaymaker a nightclub in Phuket, he wrote: “I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f***s in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x.”

Soon after this, Malik flew back to Britain in the middle of 1D’s On The Road Again tour suffering from exhaustion, before releasing a statement a few days later confirming he had quit the band.

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In the immediate aftermath of his departure from 1D in March, producer Naughty Boy posted what many thought was the first solo song from Malik, ‘I Won’t Mind’, on SoundCloud. However, this quickly turned out to be an outtake from studio sessions for the band’s recent album Four.

But since that episode, the singer has kept a very low profile up until last weekend’s public appearance. Accepting his award on Friday evening, he acknowledged his former bandmates in a heartfelt speech: “I'd also like to take this moment to thank four of the best guys I’ve ever met,” he said. “Some of the things we did will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I thank you for that.”

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