Kalu and Dele Bashiru to miss Watford's weekend game as injuries keep them sidelined

SUPER Eagles winger Samuel Kalu and U23 international Tom Dele-Bashiru have both been dropped from English Championship side Wartford's team list for this weekend's trip to Preston North End as a result of injuries which makes them ineligible to play.

With the fifth weekend of matches starting today, both players had been hoping to see some action but unfortunately, neither has been able to recover from injury on time. Kalu for his part  is making progress on his recovery from a hamstring problem that has forced him to miss all the games played by Watford in the new season so far.

Midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru has yet to make his season debut too because he is recovering from a knee ligament injury suffered earlier this month, that will see him out of action for two or three months. He had been pushing for a starting spot after a great pre-season but then suffered the injury in training.

William Troost-Ekong, Maduka Okoye and Joseph Hungbo are the other Nigerian players in Watford's first team ranks but they have found game time difficult to come by after the first four matches of the 2022/23 campaign. Watford's draw against Birmingham City in their last Championship game on Tuesday saw them extend their unbeaten start to the new season to four.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles-eligible Bournemouth attacker Dominic Solanke, will undergo a late fitness test to ascertain whether he will be fit to face Arsenal in the English Premier League tomorrow. He was omitted from the matchday squad for the trip to the Etihad Stadium due to an ankle problem.

Solanke was involved in every league game played by the Cherries in the Championship last season, finishing as the club's top scorer with twenty-nine goals in 46 appearances. Earlier this month, Solanke, 24, signed a contract extension that will keep him at the Vitality Stadium until June 30, 2026.