Watford rules out Troost-Ekong from World Cup battle

Augustine Eguavoen will be hoping key central defender William Troost-Ekong can return to full fitness ahead of the national team's 2022 World Cup playoff matches with regional rivals Ghana.

However, Troost-Ekong is now rated as doubtful for the back-to-back matches against the Black Statrs with Watford boss Roy Hodgson revealing at yesterdas pre-match press conference that the Super Eagles star is out for the foreseeable future.

The Tottenham Hotspur academy product will not be available for selection when the Hornets face off with Arsenal at Vicarage Road Stadium tomorrow due to a muscle strain.

"It’s a muscle strain, the same with Troost-Ekong. It’s going to keep them (Saar and Ekong) both out of the equation for the foreseeable future, but I don’t know how long exactly," Hodgson told Watford's official website.

"It’s not a minor thing, it’s not a knock, both have muscle strains, and that can take anything from a week to four weeks to recover from."

Troost-Ekong was one of two players in the Super Eagles' Africa Cup of Nations squad that went the distance in the four matches played in Cameroon, the other being Leicester City holding midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

Since Troost-Ekong's return from AFCON duty, he has not tasted action for Watford but was named in the matchday squad for four matches in the Premier League.