Kwadwo Baah will undergo a scan this afternoon on his injured thigh with head coach Tom Cleverley admitting the forward’s season could be over.
However, that in turn will open the door for some of Watford’s homegrown Academy players to feature in the final six games of the campaign.
Baah limped off after just 15 minutes of the 2-1 defeat at Bristol City on Saturday as he suffered a recurrence of the injury that had previously ruled him out for 10 games.
“He’s having a scan today, which will tell us the extent of the injury but it’s one we’ll have to be very careful with,” said the Watford boss.
“We’ll be cautious with him now, and I wouldn’t expect to see him in the next couple of weeks.
“It could be the end of his season. We’ll know more later this evening and will have a clearer picture by the end of the day.”
Zavier Massiah-Edwards was initially named among the substitutes at Ashton Gate but was later replaced on the bench by Pierre Dwomoh after being taken ill.
“When you have a player who is taken ill you’re allowed to change your team,” Cleverley explained.
“He’s all good for tomorrow, and I expect to see some other faces from the youth team in the squad tomorrow.
“Amin Nabizada would be in contention after playing for the Under-21s on Friday, and as I have said before these are not token gesture minutes.
“They have deserved it, I trust them and they will play a part for the rest of the season.”
The Under-18s face Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup semi-final at Vicarage Road on Thursday night, but that will not play a part in Cleverley’s thinking for tomorrow’s home game with Hull City.
“I want to give the Under-18s the best chance of winning but first-team matters always takes priority no matter what stage of the season we’re at,” he stressed.
“Let’s hope we can achieve both of our midweek targets by beating Hull and then winning the FA Youth Cup semi-final.”
Two players who may not feature against the Tigers are Giorgi Chakvetadze and Yasser Larouci.
“We’re still assessing Giorgi’s toe injury and I’ll need as long possible to decide if he can be in the squad tomorrow,” said the head coach.
“We are carrying out more examinations on that one today as well.
“Larouci has picked up a small problem in training today. He’ll be a major doubt for the game.
“Kevin Keben has trained for the last three days and will be in contention for the game at West Brom on Saturday.”
