Porteous rumours dismissed though there is interest from other clubs
Rumours that Ryan Porteous is unhappy and wants a move away from Vicarage Road have left the player and his head coach puzzled.
However, he did also concede that Porteous is one of a number of Watford players that have attracted attention from other clubs.
The Scottish international has made 22 appearances this season, including 16 starts in the Championship.
The inference in the reports was that Porteous was unhappy at the opportunities he was getting, and Tom Cleverley addressed the situation with him directly.
“I spoke to Ryan this morning, and we cleared the air,” said the Watford boss.
“I don’t know where the reports have come from, and I don’t think there are any quotes in the stories.
“He is one of a number of our players that have attracted a little bit of interest, but right now Ryan is a Watford player and right in the thick of things for selection.
“He is professional and experienced enough that these things won’t take his eye off the ball.
“He’s a Watford player, he’s available for selection and he’s fully focussed on doing his job for Watford.”
Keeper Dan Bachmann is looking at up to three months on the sidelines now the decision has been made for him to go under the surgeon’s knife.
“We’ve committed to the surgery for Dan because we all feel it’s an ankle-ligament injury that has a high risk of reoccurring,” Cleverley explained.
“So let’s fix it straight away, and after his surgery this week Dan is looking at a 10 to 12-week rehabilitation.
“He’s been our number one and a big character, as well as the longest-serving player, so we will miss him.”
As happened earlier in the season, Jonathan Bond is likely to take over between the posts – although there are other options now Myles Roberts has had his loan in Scotland cut short.
“Bondy is very reliable and I have absolutely no problem with him coming in and he offers us different qualities to Dan, and we will play to those strengths,” said Cleverley.
“Myles had a great first half of the season at Partick Thistle, and I want to look at him over the next seven to 10 days to see where he is, and whether he is ready to be our number two or if we send him out on loan for the second half of the season, maybe at a higher level.
“I think he would deserve that, with all due respect to Partick Thistle, but we’ll assess that over the coming days as well as keeping our eyes on the market.”
Midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru could feature again next week, if he comes through a test on Friday.
“Tom has returned really well and we’re hoping to get him 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors Under-21s game on Friday,” said Cleverley.
“That should put him in contention to be in the squad for the game at Cardiff on Tuesday.
“Kevin Keben has rejoined the training group and he is probably a week behind Tom in his progression but that is positive news nonetheless, although Ken Sema is still out injured.”
London Colney has been hit by a virus that has spread around the group.
“We’ve had a bit of illness flying around the squad, and we’re trying to protect the healthy ones as best we can,” said Cleverley.
“It seems to be a new one falling down each day: nothing too serious, but a virus that lasts two or three days.
“You just have to manage yourselves through that period.”
