Tom Cleverley has confirmed that Watford defender Francisco Sierralta will travel separately from the squad to Plymouth Argyle following his involvement on international duty.
The centre-back was called up by Chile manager Ricardo Gareca for their World Cup Qualification double-header against Peru and later Venezuela but was not used once across both games.
“Part And Parcel”
Sierralta will face a 15-hour flight back from his homeland straight to Heathrow Airport and instead of meeting up with the squad at their London Colney base, will head straight to Devon alongside a physio.
Former Wigan Athletic midfielder Cleverley discussed the situation with the Watford Observer.
“I don’t mind being open on this, Sierralta will go straight to Plymouth after his flight back from Chile. It’s a situation I’ve never seen before in my career where you’ve got a player who is going straight to the team hotel without a training session.
“He lands at Heathrow this morning and then will get a cab straight down to Plymouth, and we’re sending a physio down there to work with him and help get the journey out of his legs and back.
“The first time I’ll see him will be when I get to Plymouth, which will be strange. He’s an important player for us, so we’re managing things to give him the best chance of being in the best condition for tomorrow evening.
“These are thing you have to deal with which are part and parcel of being a manager.”
Elsewhere in The Hornets squad, Angelo Ogbonna and Jeremy Ngakia are expected to return in the next week or so, but the game at Home Park will be too soon for both. Pierre Dwomoh is unavailable for the contest this weekend due to illness.
Writer’s View
As Tom Cleverley said, it is part and parcel of the game to see international players, especially those from South America face a race against time to be included in matchday squads. It has happened at the Premier League level with Alexis Mac Allister at Liverpool when he missed out on one of their games after a late return. Watford are giving their defender the best chance of being involved on Saturday by sending him straight to Plymouth and his lack of involvement for Chile may be a benefit for The Hornets as he should be somewhat sharp to play on the day.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
