Nigeria international Emmanuel Dennis and his Senegal counterpart Ismaila Sarr will miss their second straight Premier League fixture when relegated Watford host Leicester City at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
The two African players were not in action as the Hornets picked a 0-0 draw against Everton in their last league assignment at the same venue three days ago owing to injuries suffered during the 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on May 7 at Selhurst Park.
During the clash against Palace, the 24-year-old Dennis, who is Watford’s leading scorer in this campaign, was withdrawn after picking a knee injury while Sarr, finished the game but was later also diagnosed with a knee injury.
Watford have once again confirmed the absence of the two players for their final home top-flight fixture of the current campaign.
“Kiko [Femenia] and Joshua King are both still suffering from sickness, while Tom Cleverley [ribs], Emmanuel Dennis [knee], Shaq Forde [ankle], Cucho Hernandez [hamstring], Juraj Kucka [knee], Imran Louza [knee] and Ismaila Sarr [knee] all remain sidelined by injury,” the club confirmed on their official website while giving injury updates for the Leicester fixture.
Watford have, however, confirmed the availability of Ivory Coast defender Hassane Kamara, who missed the game against Everton owing to suspension, the same for Cameroon defender, Nicolas Nkoulou, who has been struggling with a groin injury.
“Hassane [Kamara] is available having served a one-match suspension following his sending off at Crystal Palace, and Kwadwo Baah has returned from international duty with Germany U19s,” the statement continued.
“Nicolas Nkoulou [groin] has returned to training and could be available this weekend.”
With the injuries presenting a challenge for Watford, manager Roy Hodgson has pledged to use the opportunity and trust the other talented players at his disposal to demonstrate their quality against the Foxes.
“I’m really happy to give those boys that played against Everton another go,” the former England manager told the same portal. “If anything, they deserve it. I’m not crying or bleating about the situation – I’m actually quite looking forward to it.”
The injury to Dennis, who has so far scored 10 Premier League goals from 33 matches, will also be a huge blow to the Super Eagles ahead of their upcoming friendly matches against Mexico and Ecuador and also their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June.
Dennis is among Nigeria’s Europe-based players already shortlisted in the provisional squad for the two friendly matches - the first against Mexico on May 29 at AT&T Stadium, and the second against Ecuador on June 3 at Red Bull Arena.