London Football News

Watford duo look likely to miss Huddersfield game

Watford striker Troy Deeney is a doubt for his side’s visit of Huddersfield on Saturday.

The Hornets talisman is still struggling with a hamstring injury he picked up before the international break and is training separately from the main group.

Midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah joins him with a knee complaint but boss Javi Gracia has refused to rule either of them out.

“Troy and Nathaniel are working out of the team on their own,” said Gracia at his pre-match press conference.

“We’ll see on Friday if they can help us or not. At this moment they are training out of the team.

“We thought maybe Deeney would be ready for the Wolverhampton game, but at the end he wasn’t available and now this week he is working out of the team again. He is working and we’ll see as we have another day.”

On Chalobah, the Spaniard added: “We don’t know at this moment if he will arrive or not. In the first training session [after international duty] he felt a little pain in his right knee and a ligament problem.

“It is a small problem, but I am confident if he is not available for this game, he will be available for the next week or the one after that. It’s nothing serious.”

Sebastian Prodl, Daryl Janmaat and Tom Cleverley definitely miss out but suspended duo Jose Holebas and Christian Kabasele return to the team, leaving Gracia with a selection headache – but one he does not mind.

“I am confident in all of them,” he said. “The problem is to choose only 11. They can know, they can feel that I trust them, that if they don’t start, they can do what Andre Gray did. He came on and helped the team a lot. That is the mentality.

“I am in the same situation from the beginning.

“All the players always have played very well in all competitions. In this moment, I always have to choose the first XI but it’s not a problem for me – I have different options.

“The problem for me is to have six players out of the squad, that’s the problem. I want all of them ready, all of them fit. It’s not a problem to have different options.”




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