November 29, (THEWILL) – Watford are concerned about the fitness of their Nigerian striker Emmanuel Dennis before their English Premier League fixture against leading side Chelsea on the 1st of next month.
In the 71st minute of Watford’s 4-2 loss against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, Claudio Ranieri replaced Dennis with Ashley Fletcher with the team two goals behind.
The Nigerian international, who had a decent enough match considering he had less to work with, had just scored the Hornets’ second goal to cut the deficit to 3-2. Given that Dennis was one of the side’s better performers on the day, his substitution was baffling.
However, after the game, it was revealed that Dennis was taken off the match after taking a knock. There are now indications that, based on the severity of the knock, he could miss the next game against one of the season’s title favourites Chelsea.
Watford manager Claudio Ranieri disclosed this while speaking with the team’s website in post-match remarks: “With Dennis and Masina, I’m not sure at the moment. Tomorrow we’ll check everybody because Dennis came out and Masina didn’t finish well.”
Watford’s chances of springing an upset against Thomas Tuchel’s man will be hampered by Dennis’ absence. Since joining Club Brugge, the former Cologne striker has had a fantastic start at Vicarage Road.
As THEWILL reported, the 24-year-old wrote himself into the EPL history books when he scored against Leicester to become only the sixth player in Premier League history to reach both five goals and five assists in 12 or fewer games, after Eric Cantona (11), Jurgen Klinsmann (12), Arjen Robben (11), Andrey Arshavin (10) and Bruno Fernandes (9).
Both Dennis and Masina will be medically evaluated ahead of the match against Chelsea on Wednesday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
