Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has earned high praise for helping his side out by making a quickfire return to action after a bout of appendicitis.
The 25-year-old France Under-21s international missed a large part of pre-season due to his illness, but returned in time to start in the 2-0 home win over Brighton in the first game of the new Premier League season.
And Hornets head coach Javi Gracia: "He's perfect. He can show all his qualities despite not training (until) the last week for five training sessions.
"He had a good performance and helped the team in a position in that moment. We didn't have many solutions."
Watford and Doucoure are back in action on Sunday when they head to Turf Moor to take on Burnley, with the Hornets 21/10 to secure a draw and 2/1 to keep a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Gracia is also pleased to see England Under-21s international schemer Nathaniel Chalobah making progress in his bid to return to peak condition.
He added in the Watford Observer: "He is training with the team for the last two weeks. I think he needs time because, in my opinion, he needs more time to improve his condition.
"It's true he went with England last summer, but when he came back after the summer, he wasn't feeling comfortable and he needed to work out of the team in the beginning.
"After that, he came with the rest of the team. Now he is in a good way, but he needs time."
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Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has earned high praise for helping his side out by making a quickfire return to action after a bout of appendicitis.
The 25-year-old France Under-21s international missed a large part of pre-season due to his illness, but returned in time to start in the 2-0 home win over Brighton in the first game of the new Premier League season.
And Hornets head coach Javi Gracia: "He's perfect. He can show all his qualities despite not training (until) the last week for five training sessions.
"He had a good performance and helped the team in a position in that moment. We didn't have many solutions."
Watford and Doucoure are back in action on Sunday when they head to Turf Moor to take on Burnley, with the Hornets 21/10 to secure a draw and 2/1 to keep a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Gracia is also pleased to see England Under-21s international schemer Nathaniel Chalobah making progress in his bid to return to peak condition.
He added in the Watford Observer: "He is training with the team for the last two weeks. I think he needs time because, in my opinion, he needs more time to improve his condition.
"It's true he went with England last summer, but when he came back after the summer, he wasn't feeling comfortable and he needed to work out of the team in the beginning.
"After that, he came with the rest of the team. Now he is in a good way, but he needs time."
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Source: bet365.com