Watford have been boosted by the news captain Troy Deeney should be fit and ready for the Premier League restart next week.
Deeney was late back to training last month, after expressing fears for his family’s health amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The striker had the full support of his team-mates and the club, who put him under no pressure to return until he was ready.
Deeney returned on June 3 and, given his late arrival, it was feared he could be short on fitness for Watford’s first match back — against Leicester on June 20.
But assistant coach Craig Shakespeare said: “He’s more or less up to speed. We’re pleasantly surprised with how he came back.
“It’s probably just that little bit of sharpness [that’s missing], but he’s in full-contact training.
“Of course, we’ll have to manage Troy, as we will others, in terms of game time, because of what their bodies are used to.”
Watford were never going to force Deeney to return. Shakespeare admitted, however, that both he and head coach Nigel Pearson hoped their captain would come back.
“We never planned for that [not having Deeney],” Shakespeare added. “If it had happened, we would have respected his wishes. We wanted him back, but on his terms.”
In Pictures | Premier League table 2019/2020
Watford have been hit hard by Covid-19, with players not returning to training initially and then defender Adrian Mariappa being one of three people at the club who tested positive for the virus. But Shakespeare does not believe the Hornets are at a disadvantage.
“You wouldn’t have known people have been away, because of the team spirit we have,” he added.
“Everybody is really together now, so we’ve never been affected by it [coronavirus].”
