Danny Cipriani drove himself back to work at London Wasps today and insisted that he was on the road to a full recovery from the horrific ankle injury that forced him to miss England's tour to New Zealand. The fly half, 20, said that he is confident of making a comeback by early December and would return a stronger, better and possibly even quicker player.

Cipriani sat behind the wheel for the first time since the incident that resulted in his ankle being dislocated and fractured in four places and left him wondering, if only briefly, whether his career might be over. He removed the protective boot from his foot today to enable him to drive and this week he hopes to discard it for good, to allow him to start gentle running.

It is a positive sign that Cipriani's recovery after a three-hour operation is going well and that, with the correct rehabilitation programme under the guidance of the Wasps medical staff, he will make a successful return. “There is no danger from our point of view that he will not come back 100 per cent and bounce back stronger than he was,” Prav Mathema, the club's head physiotherapist, said.

Cipriani has begun light conditioning work with Margot Wells, his sprint coach. “Everyone knows I am mentally stubborn,” Cipriani said. “There is no doubt in my head that I'll come back.”

Recalling the incident in the Guinness Premiership semi-final win over Bath on May 18, Cipriani said that the pain when his ankle was put back in place on the pitch five minutes after the accident was excruciating. “That was the worst,” he said. “It was a weird feeling when I first did it. My whole body went numb because your body shocks. I could feel my ankle, it felt like really bad cramp, then I saw the ankle turning outwards and the pain kicked in. When I realised it wasn't pointing in the right direction it was a bit of a shock.”

He admitted crying in the ambulance on the way to hospital and in the hours leading up to surgery he thought that he might not be able to play again. The uncertainty was brief. “It lasted until about 11.30 that night,” he said. “As soon as I saw the X-ray and saw the state my ankle was in before the operation and how it was after the surgery - it was dead straight.”

Since then he has been supported by his mother and friends and family, who have ensured that any dark moments are soon banished. Ieuan Evans, the former Wales and Lions wing who suffered a similar injury but came back quicker and sharper, phoned to offer reassurance. So did Martin Johnson, the England team manager, who said that there was no pressure on the player to rush his return. The recovery, too, of Lawrence Dallaglio and Simon Shaw, his clubmates, from similar injuries has been a source of comfort.

During Cipriani's convalescence, he has met Jay-Z, one of his rap idols, and been feted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon by Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Bobby Robson. “I know my recovery is going to be painful at times, but it is something you have to go through because it is something you love so you just have to do it,” Cipriani said.