Tom Dele-Bashiru is staying positive throughout his recovery process following an unfortunate knee injury, as the midfielder looks forward to returning to on-field action and helping the Hornets with their Premier League push.

The 22-year-old picked up the LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament) problem in training ahead of Watford’s home clash against Burnley last month, putting paid to his immediate hopes of adding to his five appearances in yellow after a positive season on-loan at Reading last term.

Knee issues are nothing new for Dele-Bashiru, with the former Manchester City man having previously injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) against the Royals, keeping him out for the majority of the 2020/21 campaign.

Dele-Bashiru clarified that the most recent problem is completely unrelated to the one he previously suffered, while explaining he is making good progress on the comeback trail.

“I’ve done my LCL so I’m out for about six to eight weeks,” he said. “The timeframe for recovery from this kind of injury is usually two to three months, but I don’t want to rush anything because it’s important I stay fit when I come back.

“It’s the outside ligament, so I’m struggling to get full extension and the stability isn’t quite there. It’s not a complete rupture, it’s a partial tear, so hopefully it’ll grow back by itself.

“It was just an innocuous one in training. It came at a frustrating time because I thought I was doing well and I was in and around it, but I’m working hard to get back as soon as I can and I’ll work to get in the team when I’m back.

“It’s the other knee this time. I’m happy it’s not the same one because I don’t have to think about the other ligaments that I’d damaged before, and I’m using the experience of that injury to help me this time.”

Having come through such a serious injury to make 39 appearances for Reading in all competitions in 2021/22, Dele-Bashiru is confident he can return even stronger at Watford this time around.

And with the knowledge and know-how of injury recovery behind him, he is clear he is mentally in a good place to shake off this most recent setback.

The Nigeria youth international said: “That ACL injury was the toughest period of my life, so I feel that any injury after that isn’t really going to affect me. I’m just doing everything I can to stay positive.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world. The good thing about the Championship is that there are so many games, so I know there’s still time for me to come back and make a real difference to the team this season.”

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