Seeing Almen Abdi wheel away celebrating a rare headed goal against Leeds United on Tuesday was possibly my moment of the season so far.

Abdi, who has been injury plagued for most of the campaign, burst into the box early on and headed home an Ikechi Anya cross to give Leeds a taste of what was to come.

The midfielder then, through pure perseverance, hunted down a lethargic Leeds defence in the second half to assist Troy Deeney and put the final nail in the visitor’s coffin.

Despite being overjoyed by the return of our midfield maestro I couldn’t help but think to myself, what if?

What if our talismanic playmaker had been fit ten games earlier?

In my opinion Watford would currently engulfed in a potential promotion mix-up, such is the influence of our Swiss international.

Although we are now only seven points behind Reading with a game in hand, our chances of securing a play-off spot are incredibly slim.

Any possibility of securing a place in the top six arguably evaporated after Scott Arfield's late strike on Saturday.

For 80 minutes Watford showed they can trouble the better sides in this league, demonstrating the spirit and the attacking intent which almost took us up last season.

And, if Beppe Sannino is as wise as his demeanour suggests, he will be looking to build for next season.

If he is the man to take us forward, he should build his Watford side around the talents of Abdi.

This may seem obvious to some but Abdi is a class above most of his team-mates and has been missed monumentally over the course of this season.

His vision, awareness and work rate is that of a good Premier League midfielder not a mid-table Championship one.

The absence of Abdi from our midfield, which has been ever changing throughout this campaign, has halted any realistic promotion push for the Hornets.

One big plus we can take from the Leeds match was the instant telepathic understanding between Abdi and his new midfield partner Daniel Tozser.

Their neat exchanges and slick interplay brought some class to a typical Championship meeting.

With Abdi back in the side, Watford will be looking to cap off an inconsistent season with a positive finish.

Beating Millwall on Saturday would be a good start.