Watford star to be assessed over 'next 24 hours' amid fitness setback ahead of Sunderland clash

Watford midfielder Rocco Vata will face a late fitness assessment ahead of his side’s trip to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this weekend, Hornets boss Tom Cleverley has confirmed.

The 19-year-old has impressed since signing from Scottish giants Celtic over the summer, scoring three goals and assisting three more across 19 Championship outings. He was absent from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat the hands of Norwich City, however, and his manager has since confirmed that it is unclear as to whether he will be available to feature on Wearside on Saturday lunchtime.

Speaking in a press conference, Cleverley said: “He [Vata] took a knock in training; we’re pleased with how he recovered but today he’s been struck down by a virus. We’ll assess him over the next 24 hours. We're not ruling him out of the game but it’s more the virus which makes him a doubt for the weekend.”

Aside from Vata, Watford are also set to be without striker Vakoun Bayo, who will begin a three-match suspension after receiving a red card against Norwich. Addressing the Ivorian’s sending off after the final whistle of that contest, Cleverley said: “The referee’s just got the wrong chain of events, because he said to me at half-time he’s elbowed him in the throat. We’ve looked at the footage back, and he’s palmed him in the chest.

“If you’re going to make a big, significant decision like that you have to be sure. So he’s seen something that hasn’t happened and for a referee that is disappointing. We’ll have to see what we do with that. We will sit down and review it. He’s pushed someone with the palm of his hand in his chest.”

Elsewhere, Kwadwo Baah, Pierre Dwomoh, and Daniel Bachmann remain long-term absentees for Watford, while new signing Caleb Wiley is not yet fit enough to feature. Those issues aside, it is understood that the Hornets have no fresh injury concerns.

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For his part, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris has also issued an update on his side’s fitness problems, and has admitted that it could be a short while before the Black Cats see deadline day loan signing Jayden Danns in action. He said: "We don't know at the moment with Jayden.

“We probably have to take it week by week. He's still a very young player and it's fair to say that we have to protect this player. So we will work with Liverpool to find the right moment to bring him into the side."

Otherwise, Sunderland’s absentee list looks increasingly promising, with Alan Browne back in full training and set to return to the matchday squad this weekend. Romaine Mundle should also be back in full training by the end of this week, with Tommy Watson around a week behind him. Meanwhile, defender Jenson Seelt is also closing in on his return from a serious knee injury, though Le Bris believes he is best playing some more U21s football in the immediate future.

The Frenchman added: "We have a good left winger now! So it's very important to manage the situation with Romaine properly. We would rather Romaine for thirteen, fourteen games fully than have him for two, three games and then he gets a new injury. So we'll manage the next sessions with him and build him a careful pathway back to the team.

"With Jenson, we need to manage his return because he has to adapt. His body has developed a lot since his injury, he is more powerful and so he needs to build a little bit more in the U21s. I don't know exactly when he will available, one, two, maybe three weeks. We will see."

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