The 2014/15 campaign hasn’t been easy for Sean Murray. He made just nine appearances for Watford before suffering a knee ligament injury in January which cut short his season. But today the midfielder returned to the Hornets' training pitches for the first time. 

Murray's teammate and friend Tommie Hoban knows how difficult it can be to recover from a long-tem injury and he believes Murray will return to the Hornets side an improved player.

In a Watford squad packed with talent from across the world Murray and Hoban are throwbacks to life before the Pozzos’ takeover in 2012.

They both came through the Hornets Academy. They both made their debuts under Malky Mackay on the final day of the 2010/11 season. And they have both suffered long-term injuries.

Murray is continuing to recover from his knee surgery and has told the club website his rehabilitation work has gone well.

He added: "Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm hopefully going to be doing a little bit of running on the pitches, which is the first little bit of good news I've had. 

"From tomorrow it's a good chance for me to kick on, and catch up with some of the fitness work I've been missing out on. Even though it'll be pre-season by the time I'm back, I'll be looking forward to it." 

Murray has to watch on from the sidelines as the Golden Boys attempt to secure promotion. That can’t be easy and it is exactly what Hoban had to do two years ago.

“Recovering from a long-term injury is more a mental battle than a physical one,” the centre-back said.

“The first three or four months are not too difficult because your recovery is probably going how you want it to.

“Then if you have a setback it can become very difficult. I remember wondering why my ankle wasn’t healing and all I wanted to do was get back out on the pitch.

“You see everyone training every day and all you want to do is play. So you try and push harder to get back, which isn’t always the best thing. So you have got to be mentally strong and listen to the physios.

“It is a long road. Sean is having a tough time right now but he is working hard in the gym to come back.

“You can improve though. I did a lot of upper body work to make myself stronger while I was injured and that has helped me become a stronger player.

“Sean is using it in the same way. We are all looking forward to having him back next season.”

Murray and Hoban are the last two Academy graduates to become regular members of the Golden Boys squad and have made 85 and 55 first-team appearances in all competitions respectively.

Despite only being 21 years old, Hoban remembers when a mid-table finish was considered a “pretty good season” for the Hornets and when the club’s financial constraints meant Watford’s Academy was vital in supplementing the first team.

Times have clearly changed, as demonstrated against Millwall. There were 11 full internationals in the match-day squad and five of those had to settle for a place on the substitutes bench.

Hoban accepts it is now harder for a player from Watford’s youth system to break into the first team but he knows from first-hand experience there is still quality in the Hornets Academy.

He said: “Earlier on in the season, when I wasn’t playing for the first team, I played in the Under-21 Premier League Cup with the youth lads.

“So I know there are good players in that team and I am sure we will be seeing a few of them coming through soon.

“I will always try and give them any advice I can. Personally I feel there is still a long way for me to go as a player and I am still learning.

“But of course I am a few years older than the youth lads and a few of them have asked me questions during the season.

“I will try and give them some advice and try and help them because that is what I wanted from older players when I was their age.

“When I was coming through I would speak to people in the Reserves like Dale Bennett and that was important for my development.

“But it is tougher now to break into the first team, no doubt,” the central defender added.