The Hornets remain cautious when discussing Almen Abdi's fitness but the club have not ruled out the midfielder playing again this season.

Watford refused to discuss Abdi's injury at any length for several weeks after his latest set-back at the end of January.

The club’s current player of the year has had a torrid time this season due to an unusual foot condition which has resulted in him not starting a match since August.

Abdi has been suffering with Plantar Fasciitis, which leads to unexpected sharp pains in his foot, for most of this season but he made a return to action in mid-January and featured in four matches from the bench before being withdrawn 14 minutes after his introduction at Nottingham Forest on January 28.

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

The club have been considering their options when it comes to Abdi's treatment but have decided to persist with "conservative treatment".

Speaking on Monday, Cesarini said: "With Almen we have been waiting because we think we have a little chance to have him on the pitch before the end of the season and we have to be sure that if he plays again then he is in the position to not have set-backs.

"It is not an easy situation because we have been in this situation in the past and now something has changed a little but we are on top of it.

"I don’t want to tell you anything that could be misunderstood. We have to be careful and monitor him day-by-day."

He continued: "The treatment at the moment is conservative treatment. He is having all the therapy recommended by the specialists. He isn’t having any strange therapy.

"At the moment, it has been suggested to stay with the conservative treatment because there is a chance he could be available this season, we wanted to stay with this."

Full injury news ahead of this weekend's game will be uploaded later this evening.