BRIGHTON — Going back to Training Camp, the Bruins suffered their first significant injury when Frank Vatrano suffered a freak accident that led to a foot injury. Coming off a decent campaign in Providence and Boston and a good showing with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships, Vatrano’s next step forward would have to wait for three months.

During that time, the injury bug hit hard for the Bruins. From Patrice Bergeron to Zdeno Chara, David Backes, David Pastrnak, Noel Acciari, Kevan Miller and now Matt Beleskey (out six weeks with a right knee injury), the training room at Warrior Ice Arena was getting busier by the day with guys healing their wounds.

There was a bit of good news on the injury front, though on Tuesday at the Bruins’ state of the art practice facility.

After skating individually for the past few weeks with Bruins coaches observing, Vatrano joined his teammates donning a red non-contact jersey at practice. Aside from physicality, the East Longmeadow native and former UMass-Amherst standout was an on-ice participant for the first time in 2016-17.

“It was a big step for me today,” Vatrano said about his return to the Brighton training venue. “It was good to get out there with the guys for the first time. I’m ready to get started.”

Without the benefit of training camp, Vatrano’s path to returning will have a few bumps along the road. At times it may get frustrating for the 22-year-old, but he’s already past the hard part now with his walking boot removed.

Instead of sitting at home and staying off his feet, Vatrano can enjoy the moment and whatever lies ahead of him.

“Obviously when I got the news it was tough to take,” said Vatrano, who notched eight goals and three assists in 39 games during his rookie season in 2015-16. “I had worked all summer to prove that I can get a spot on the team and that was a little setback, and now I have gone through the rehab and done everything I can to get back to playing. That was one of the biggest steps to get back on the ice with the guys and it felt great and now it’s waiting to hear the news on when I can start playing again.”

“I think that’s a step in the right direction for Frank and that’s the best thing for him right now is to get up to pace with our game,” Claude Julien said about Vatrano. “It’s going to take awhile [to get into game shape] when you’re out that long, so the more time he can spend with us and work on the pace of his game and finding his rhythym is a good thing.”

As things progress, the Bruins have their options with Vatrano. They could insert him into the lineup when he’s good to go or they could send him down to Providence for a conditioning stint. Given the Bruins’ struggles offensively, the former seems like the better choice if this scenario was presented to fans around The Hub.

Where Vatrano fits in the lineup, whether it’s on the second line with David Krejci and David Backes or filling Beleskey’s spot on the third line, is something that will be discussed among Julien and the Bruins coaching staff down the road. For now, the Black and Gold just happy to get a player on the verge of returning.

“To see him back – after an unfortunate preseason training injury – on the ice and skating around well [is a good thing]. “Hopefully, in short order, he’ll be able to be in the lineup,” said the first-year Bruin Backes. “From what I hear he has one wicked shot and I’d love to see that on the ice and in game action.”

Well, David, it looks like you’ll be able to see Vatrano’s shot – and his full skillset – soon enough.