IT'S TAKEN four months, but Adelaide star forward Taylor Walker has started running, albeit with the aid of an anti-gravity treadmill.

Walker is a third of the way through his 12-month rehabilitation program, but his latest progression is a significant step in his recovery from a knee reconstruction.

The 23-year-old has been sorely missed in Adelaide's forward line this year after rupturing the ACL and LCL in his right knee against Carlton in round five.

The "Alter-G" treadmill allows players to run in a controlled environment, minimising the stress placed on the body.

Walker said he would run carrying 80 per cent of his body weight this week and would gradually work his way to 100 per cent, from where he would be able to run outdoors.

“You’ve got to go week-by-week. When I do something new, for example running, my knee pulls up a bit sore. When I first started doing weights, I got a bit sore too but now it’s fine," Walker told the Adelaide website.

“They’re slow steps, but we’re getting there.”

The club's leading goal kicker in 2012 said that while he's only just started running, he'd spent considerable time in the pool and gym in the last few months.

He admitted it had been difficult to watch on from the sidelines this season, particularly given Adelaide's disappointing year.

“I was in a straight-leg brace for four weeks. I couldn’t move my leg or put any weight through it at all,” he said.

“For the next five weeks, I was in a hinge brace. Every week, I could go a few more degrees and get a bigger bend in the knee joint. At the nine-week mark, I got the brace off and started walking around. Since then, I’ve been in the pool a fair bit, on the bike and doing a lot of leg weights.

“I get through the week fine, but come game day it’s pretty hard to watch the boys out there. It hasn’t been the best season for us and that makes it a bit harder to sit back and watch.”