Beppe Sannino believes bringing on Almen Abdi last night was still the right decision despite the midfielder suffering an injury set-back.

The Hornets have today said it is still too early to assess the extent of Abdi’s injury but confirmed the player will miss Sunday’s Championship game with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Abdi has an unusual foot injury which leads to unexpected sharp pains which has made his rehabilitation very complicated.

The ex-Switzerland international had several mini set-backs during his four-months out but appeared to have turned a corner after making three consecutive outings from the bench.

Head of medical Marco Cesarini continually stressed Abdi’s recovery wasn’t complete and that there was the risk of him still suffering pains in his foot.

And the ex-Udinese midfielder came on during last night’s match at Nottingham Forest but was forced off 14 minutes later due to the injury.

After the game, head coach Sannino said: “He felt a sharp pain on his foot. All week he was good and for me it was the right decision to have him on the pitch. We will assess him tomorrow and see.”

When asked if the pains have been happening regularly and whether this was the worst in a while, Cesarini replied: “He was ok all week and this pain was a bad one so he couldn’t carry on. We will assess him.”

On the disappointment for both the player and medical department, Cesarini added: “You can imagine the situation. But we want to respect the player and see what happens next week.”