Watford manager Slaven Bilic opted for a diplomatic explanation for Ismaila Sarr’s absence from Watford’s goalless draw at home to Hull.
The Senegal forward had been given time off by the Hornets following his nation’s World Cup exit at the hands of England last Sunday.
Bilic had declared on Friday that he had hoped Sarr would return in time to take on the Tigers, but that did not pan out as planned. The club are understood to be in regular contact with the player but are unsure of his exact whereabouts or return date.
“Of course we are missing Sarr,” Bilic said. “If Sarr was here yesterday he would play of course. He didn’t come, he wasn’t at training yesterday so he was out and I was totally concentrating on the game.
“Is he expected back soon? Yes, of course. Sarr is a great player.”
Watford moved up to fifth in the Sky Bet Championship, although they would have gone third had they won.
Bilic was satisfied with a point from a game that saw substitute Rey Manaj miss the Hornets’ clearest opportunity, late on and from close range.
“The first half wasn’t good enough but in the second half we created more than enough chances to score but the finishing touch was lacking,” he said.
“I remember three or four minimum of these massive chances that we missed. We are disappointed with the result, big time, and frustrated, but I’m very pleased with the way the guys played.”
Bilic is now hoping to add midfield reinforcements next month after Hamza Choudhury became the latest in that position to suffer an injury.
The on-loan Leicester man left with his right knee in a brace after being hurt early on in a 50-50 challenge with Dimitrios Pelkas, who also suffered a knee injury and had to come off.
Watford are already without Tom Cleverley, Imran Louza and Dan Gosling in that position and Edo Kayambe had to miss out because of a calf problem. That meant forward Joao Pedro dropping back into the middle, blunting the Hornets’ attacking options.
“After 10 minutes we were without probably the best midfielder that we have left and you have to put your best player in midfield because you don’t have anything on the bench, so considering all of that I have only words of praise for the guys,” Bilic added.
Hull, who moved ahead of Wigan and two points clear of third-bottom West Brom, also suffered an injury to midfielder Greg Docherty, who had to come off with a dead leg after replacing Pelkas.
“I was really pleased with the players after the game because we have come away to Watford and got a clean sheet – and the players are disappointed that they haven’t won the game,” said manager Liam Rosenior.
“We created a lot of stuff from really good defensive shape, which is one of the things I have been really pleased about.
“I can see a real basis for moving forward and hopefully we can get more clean sheets because before I came in it was an issue. So I’m really happy.
“I was delighted with the way we defended set plays and got bodies in the way of things. We ran ourselves into the ground – and that’s what it takes. That’s the kind of attitude I want at this club.”
