So where did Watford midfielder Sean Murray spend the majority of his summer break? The USA? The Caribbean? Dubai? No, not even close. The answer is much less glamorous: London Colney.

And – if he is honest – it wasn’t much of a break.

While most of the Hornets' players headed off on holiday and basked in the glory of winning promotion to the Premier League, Murray was spending his days at the club’s training ground in order to come back from a serious knee injury.

It was back in January that the Academy graduate tore his lateral collateral ligament in training and damaged his hamstring.

“It was just one of those things that can’t be helped,” he says. “There was nobody around me, I just landed awkwardly and that was that.”

Murray underwent surgery but the injury ended his season. He had to watch from the touchline as the Golden Boys surged up the Championship table and clinched their place in the top flight of English football.

“I would have loved to be involved but we are a team and everyone, from the players to the coaching staff, are my friends and I wanted them to do well,” he says.

“I felt more like a fan towards the end of the season and I actually sat in with the supporters for the game at Brighton which obviously was the day we won promotion.

“Even though I couldn’t play I still got the same thrill seeing my mates getting to the top of the league and then getting promoted.”

The season ended just as Murray had started running again. There was to be no let-up in his recovery.

With Premier League football in front of him the midfielder knew he had to come back fitter and stronger.

He says: “We are a Premier League team now so everything needs to improve if I want to be playing.

"I had a couple of weeks off but the rest of the time I was training with the fitness coaches. I was in pretty much every day either working on the pitch or in the gym.

“What the injury did was give me a chance to sit back and think about things. It was my first big injury and certainly makes you mentally stronger.

“You watch the lads go out for training every day and you are just stuck in the gym. That is tough but it makes you even more determined to get back.”

At the end of June Murray returned to London Colney with the rest of the Hornets squad for pre-season training.

Given the length of his injury it came as little surprise to the midfielder that he struggled during the first week.

“I was really looking forward to it," he explains. "I started full training straight away. I didn’t feel right though.

"I had a few niggling injuries which, if I am honest, I expected after so long out. So I took another week off to make sure I was ready for Germany.”

Watford spent just under a week in Germany on a pre-season training camp and the players were worked hard.

Double training sessions took place almost every day in addition to two friendly matches. In the first of those, against amateur German side SC Verl, Murray made his return.

It was the polar opposite to his last appearance for the Hornets, an FA Cup third round tie at Premier League champions Chelsea, but for Murray it was just as important.

Speaking at the club's training camp in Germany after making his playing return against SC Verl, Murray told the Watford Observer: “It was great to get back on the pitch and get some game time.

"Playing again has boosted my confidence because I know now that my knee is strong enough to play in matches.

"So it was massive for me. I now have confidence in my body again and that is something I need if I want to play well and want to get into the team.”

Part two of the Watford Observer's interview with Murray will be printed in next week's paper.