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Watford captain Troy Deeney to take injections in bid to face Arsenal

Injured: Troy Deeney: REUTERS
Injured: Troy Deeney: REUTERS

Troy Deeney will have injections to try to face Arsenal on Saturday after the Watford striker revealed he had suffered ankle ligament damage against Fulham.

Deeney revealed the tackle from defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah during the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage means he will require further treatment to recover for the clash at Emirates Stadium.

The 30-year-old is unlikely to feature against Tottenham in the EFL Cup at Milton Keynes on Wednesday night, but is determined to be ready to face Unai Emery’s side, who have won five games on the spin in all competitions following a stuttering start to the season.

Deeney said: “I have to have another injection, this time in the ankle, for the weekend so I’ll be ready for Arsenal. There’s a bit of ligament damage in there [but] nothing a few injections can’t help. It’s going to take more than that to stop me playing against Arsenal.”

The striker also confirmed he had been playing with broken toes since Watford beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on August 26, after suffering a heavy challenge in training the day before the game.

He told the BBC: “One toe has healed but two are broken. I’ve had injections. One of the younger players did it on the Friday before the game. He was trying to impress and get himself in the team. It wasn’t much, but he stood on my toes.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal centre-half Sokratis Papastathopoulos will miss Wednesday's EFL Cup clash against Brentford, but he is expected to be fit to face Watford.

The Greece international suffered a dead leg in Sunday’s 2-0 win against Everton and will not be risked against the Bees.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also set to miss the Brentford game with the ankle injury he suffered against Vorskla Poltava in the Europa League last week, but he should be fit to return this weekend.