Roberto Pereyra has stepped up his recovery from a serious knee injury which has kept the Argentine midfielder out of action since December.

Pereyra, Watford's record signing, has been on the sidelines since he was stretchered off at Manchester City in December, but is back running as he targets a return to training ahead of pre-season.

Nearly five months have now passed since his injury at the Etihad Stadium and the 26-year-old has suffered no significant relapse during recovery, meaning he should be fit and ready to join up with his team-mates when they report back for training around the start of July.

Pereyra made 12 starts for Watford before suffering his injury, scoring twice and providing two assists following a summer move from Italian champions Juventus.