Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley targeting FA Cup final run as he prepares for Wembley return

If Tom Cleverley has his way, Wednesday night will not be the last time he plays at Wembley this season.

After missing the first six months of the campaign due to an achilles injury the midfielder is now back fit and impressing in a Watford team who are enjoying a brilliant season.

They sit ninth in the Premier League and are in the fifth round of the FA Cup too, where they face a trip to either Portsmouth or QPR.

And it is that, along with the long-term ambition of an England recall, which has Cleverley hoping Wednesday night's match won’t be his last appearance at the national stadium this season.

“You have got to take it step by step,” he tells Standard Sport when asked about his hope of playing international football again.

“But first of all hopefully we can get back there with an FA Cup run with Watford.

"That would be one of the main targets for the season. It is a great stadium. I have still never scored there, that is something I want to tick off.

“It is a privilege to play there even if it is just a Premier League game.”

Cleverley has fond memories of Wembley with six of his 13 England appearances coming there, including his last one against Germany in November 2013.

Most recently the 29-year-old has played for Everton in their 2016 FA Cup semi-final, but he also turned out there for Great Britain during the London 2012 Olympics.

“It is something that you do take a little bit for granted while you are in the moment,” Cleverley says, reflecting on his memories of Wembley.

“I am just from the era where Wembley is a massive thing. A cup final is a proper day out, so I will always be proud of playing at Wembley.

“It is probably something I will be prouder of when I look back at my playing career."

It was not in Cleverley’s thoughts that he would miss the start of the season and he even took one of Watford’s physiotherapists away with him on holiday to get fit for August.

However, it became clear that surgery was the only option to fix his achilles when even running upstairs was causing the midfielder pain.

“I had probably about 10 days off in the summer because I really did think I could work back to getting fit for pre-season,” Cleverley says.

“But the tendon just wasn’t getting any better so I had to have surgery, which was a bit of blow.

“I was getting so disheartened. Even running up a flight of stairs would become painful.

“I started to realise this was probably going to need something a bit stronger, so we went for the surgery.”

Given his experience, the return of Cleverley is a welcome boost for Watford – who are likely to be without midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure on Wednesday night due to injury.

Cleverley has become one of the leaders in the Hornets dressing room, to the point where he even helps collect some of the player fines – which captain Troy Deeney revealed earlier this season can be worth £100-a-minute if people are late for training.

However, crucially Cleverley has now taken on the role of nurturing young stars at the club too, such as 19-year-old midfielder Domingos Quina.

“I have been through a lot of highs and lows. I like to start passing that experience onto our young players,” he says.

“I have been through a lot during my career and I feel like I can help people like Domingos Quina, who is a massive talent.”