Watford manager Valerien Ismael is ’50/50′ as to whether Ryan Porteous will be fit to face Leeds United tomorrow.
Ismael was speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Watford’s trip to Elland Road on Saturday where he provided an update on Porteous’ fitness.
The 24-year-old limped off in the 68th minute of Watford’s 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion earlier this week after landing heavily in a challenge in the box.
Porteous had played every minute of every Championship league game this season up until the injury, establishing himself as a key player at the heart of Watford’s defence.
Ismael has confirmed that Porteous did not take part in Watford’s training session yesterday, though his condition has improved over night.
Ismael 50/50 on whether Porteous will face Leeds
The Watford boss will now make a late decision on whether he is fit to face Leeds on Saturday depending on how he got through today’s session.
He said: “We will assess him in today’s training session. He didn’t train yesterday, he had just a recovery session. It was a little bit better when he woke up this morning. I can’t tell you anything at the minute, it’s 50/50.
“We have options, and if he cannot play then another player will get the chance. It’s a long season and we will need all the players. I always stay focused on the players that are available to give confidence to players who step up when others are not available.”
Watford have been fairly inconsistent at the back in recent weeks and clearly if he was unable to make it, Leeds’ chances of winning would receive somewhat of a boost.
The Hornets are likely to come out and press Leeds more than any other visiting side to Elland Road this season and so they could clearly do with having all their best defensive assets available.
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