Niners wide receiver Michael Crabtree isn't talking to the media until he's healthy, but the sight of his left foot Monday suggested he's taken a significant step in his recovery from his undisclosed foot injury.

Crabtree walked into the team's locker room without a noticeable limp or the orthopedic boot that had been on his left foot since at least the start of training camp. Crabtree, who had surgery after sustaining a stress fracture in the same foot prior to the 2009 draft, was injured in early June during the 49ers' first players minicamp at San Jose State.