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Cape Town - Watford boss Quique Flores has revealed that striker Danny Welbeck will be sidelined for at least a couple of months with a hamstring injury.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United forward managed just four minutes of last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham before needing to be replaced.
Initial reports suggested the England international had suffered an ankle injury, but further tests have shown he picked up a hamstring tear.
The news on the 28-year-old only deepens Flores’ problems with his club still rooted to the foot of the Premier League, winless after their first nine matches.
Confirming the bad news on the summer signing, the Spanish tactician said: “We need to check a little bit more what happened [to him] in the next couple of weeks. It is a hamstring injury.
“I have no idea how long he will be out but it’s for a long time. It will be months rather than weeks.”
The injury is the latest setback in Welbeck’s career, the frontman having been plagued by fitness concerns, including last season when he suffered a broken ankle in November playing for Arsenal which ruled him for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign.
The Manchester-born forward was brought in to bolster Watford’s attack but hasn’t had the desired effect thus far, scoring once in six appearances.
However, the good news for the Hertfordshire outfit is that skipper Troy Deeney is closing in on a return to action following knee surgery in August.
The 31-year-old is currently training alone, and it is hoped he could rejoin the rest of the first-team squad at the end of the month.
Deeney is the latest player to escape the Watford treatment room with Etienne Capoue, Isaac Success and Sebastian Prodl having returned to training this week ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Bournemouth.
- TeamTalk Media
