Kane Crichlow has achieved a milestone on the road to recovery from a broken ankle.

The Watford Under-23 forward has had his protective boot removed and is walking around freely and running on the antigravity treadmill.

“It’s feeling a lot better now,” Crichlow told Watford’s website. “I’m not feeling any pain really where it used to hurt. There’s a bit on the inside, but I guess that’s just stiffness.

“The specialist said it’s recovering well and I’m allowed to start running on the treadmill and doing ankle mobility and I can progress on from there, so it’s going really well now.”

The 19-year-old had enjoyed an encouraging start to his Vicarage Road career since signing from Sky Bet League One side AFC Wimbledon last summer, including travelling to Austria as part of a preseason tour under former manager Javi Gracia.

However, his progression was dealt a severe blow when he broke his ankle going in for a tackle with defender Daryl Janmaat while taking part in first-team training in September.

“Daryl apologised and he actually even brought me some cologne aftershave as a gesture,” Crichlow said. “He was really upset and he didn’t want to train.

“It’s not a big deal and these things happen so there’s nothing against him for stuff like that.”

Several first-team players have played a big role in Crichlow’s ongoing recovery, among them England forward Danny Welbeck, who was also at the training ground when the incident occurred.

“Welbeck actually came when I was in the ambulance and said as soon as he saw me go down he knew what I was going through because of previous injuries he’s had,” Crichlow added.

“He was just comforting me and saying if I need anything let him know and he’ll visit me in the hospital if I had to stay.”

Crichlow has vowed to come back stronger from his injury.

“My first aim is to get fit as quickly as I can and come back better than I was before,” he said. “The main aim for this season is to get among the first team and ultimately make my senior debut for Watford.”