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Festy Ebosele (front) in action for Watford on Tuesday night. Alamy Stock Photo

Injury blow for Festy Ebosele as Watford fear minimum three-month layoff

Ankle damage would rule winger out of Republic of Ireland’s Nations League promotion/relegation playoff in March.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND international Festy Ebosele faces the possibility of at least three months out after suffering an ankle injury on club duty this week.

Watford boss Tom Cleverley confirmed his concerns after the 22-year-old was forced off in Tuesday’s defeat to Preston North End early in the second half.

It could also be a major blow for international manager Heimir Hallgrímsson ahead of March’s Nations League promotion/relegation play-off with Bulgaria.

Ebosele has emerged as an important player on the right wing and with Chiedozie Ogbene ruled out for the remainder of the season it is set to limit Hallgrímsson’s options further.

Cleverley revealed that initial scans on the injury are similar to that of teammate Dan Bachmann, who suffered ankle ligament damage earlier this month.

“Festy is not good news either, and one that we thought might not be so serious,” Cleverley said on Watford’s website.

“There was more than one occasion on Tuesday when Preston recovered possession with tackles coming in from behind that made contact with the player as well as the ball – not just the Festy one, but on James Abankwah as well which led to their first goal.

“Festy’s injury looks a lot like Dan Bachmann’s from our initial scans, but again we’ll assess further and go from there.”

Cleverley said that Abankwah “set a high bar” with his debut performance away to Derby County last weekend but came “back down to earth with a bit of a bang [against Preston]. Hopefully that doesn’t dent his confidence too much. That’s the Championship though. No challenge is ever the same.”

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