Post Malone made his grand return to the stage after being hospitalized for his hard fall ... and while he might not have performed at 100%, the crowd was lovin' every minute.
The singer took the stage at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland Tuesday night ... thanking the packed crowd early on for coming out -- and repeated his explanation as to why he pulled the plug on Saturday's gig.
Folks in the crowd tell TMZ ... Post didn't seem to be fully healed -- his singing seemed labored throughout his set. They could hear him taking deep breaths.
He was clearly in pain ... grabbing on his ribs, walking and dancing almost in slow motion around the stage. At one point, Post took his shirt off and the crowd saw that his ribs were wrapped in what looked like ACE bandages.
Regardless of his performance, the audience was giving him TONS of props ... especially after taking such a nasty fall last weekend.
As we reported, Post suffered a fracture in his rib cage as a result of the fall.
He's a real trooper. Good job.