Head Coach Slaven Bilić is hoping the gradual easing of Watford’s injury concerns can inspire them to victory at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (February 11, 3pm KO), and kickstart a good run of form heading into the business end of the campaign.

The Croatian’s tenure at Vicarage Road has been largely impacted by absences in all areas of the pitch, but the availability of captain Tom Cleverley and fellow key players Ken Sema and Christian Kabasele this weekend, in addition to the improving fitness of João Pedro, provides a much-welcome boost.

Craig Cathcart’s unexpected absence - due to a groin problem picked up in training - is naturally a big blow, but with Wesley Hoedt having looked sharp while playing for the Under-21s alongside Cleverley in midweek, and Ryan Porteous impressing on debut at Reading, Bilić is remaining positive.

He said: “Things are getting better, and it’s starting to look good on paper. We’re getting back to a stage where we have quantity and quality of fit players, we just have to handle the situation properly and make sure we keep the players who are coming back.

“We have to be patient, and make sure all the time we are having conversations with the medical team, the fitness guys and the players themselves. We want to make sure they’re in the right headspace, and are confident in themselves when they’re back on the pitch as well.

“We have players back for this game, which is really important. Players like Cleverley for example are very important for the dressing room, with his leadership and character. I know we have lost Cathcart, which is a blow, but we have players to come in with experience and quality.

“Wesley [Hoedt] has played in big leagues and knows what he’s doing - I saw that straight away. Ryan [Porteous] as well had a good debut, and it was a shame his goal didn’t turn out to be the winning one. Both are good additions to the defence.”

Despite being dealt such severe injury issues - with 15 senior players having been unavailable at the start of 2023 - Watford sit fifth in the Sky Bet Championship standings with 16 games left to play.

The visit of Blackburn kickstarts four February clashes against teams within the top seven - with Burnley (1st), West Bromwich Albion (6th) and Sheffield United (2nd) to come - and Bilić is aware how important the coming weeks could be to his team’s hopes of a Premier League return.

He said: “It’s been a tough period, but I think we’ve done okay. We could have got more points in certain games, but the guys have done well. Since we came in players have had to play out of position, but they’ve shown good attitude and quality, and that’s what we still need from them.

“It’s good to start having players back, and we’re going to need them. We have a run of tough games now - nothing will be decided after them, but we know if we do well out of them we will have a big boost.

“We are only concentrating on Blackburn for now, though. They’re a good team, with experienced players and energy in the ranks. They have had a season a bit like ours, with ups and downs, but we know they’re capable of beating the teams at the top and we need to be ready.”

Finally, in the wake of the squad list being published earlier this week, Bilić passed on his best wishes to forward Rey Manaj, who has left the club having scored one goal in seven appearances since his summer arrival.

Bilić added: “I’m sorry for Rey that it didn’t work out. He trained with us during the World Cup break and was showing that he is a proper striker, and that he wanted to do well.

“Unfortunately, in the first game back against Hull he picked up another injury. He’s still young and he’s on the way back now after his second surgery, so I wish him all the best for the future.”