Watford boss Tom Cleverley has said he doesn’t expect to sign a free agent goalkeeper following Dan Bachmann’s injury.
Watford’s number one is poised for a spell on the sidelines but isn’t likely to be out for a prolonged period of time.
Bachmann, 30, has been playing his football at Vicarage Road since 2017.
Cleverley has said, as per a report by the Watford Observer: “If Dan were to be out for a long period then potentially we’d have to look at bringing in another keeper, but we don’t think it will. Yes there’s damage but we’re hopeful we’re in days and weeks rather than months.
“He did his thigh when he saved the chance from (Josh) Sargent in the first minute. I think a fully-fit Dan Bachmann would have saved the first goal. In hindsight we would have made the substitution at the same time as (Francisco) Sierralta to avoid using a second substitution interval.
“He took two clearances trying to see if it was something he could play with. He’s never pulled his thigh before so you’re trying to diagnose yourself on the pitch. You can never be sure is it a spasm, is it cramp, is it damage, so he gave it six or seven minutes and it looks like he’s damaged his quad. We just hope it’s one that is low on the scale.”
Watford goalkeeper situation
Watford have cover between the sticks in the form of Jonathan Bond and he is perfectly capable of making the step up whilst Bachmann recovers.
The 31-year-old, who is a former England youth international, moved back to the Hornets over the summer.
He rose up through the academy ranks of the Hertfordshire outfit and went on to play 33 times for their first-team, as well as having loan spells away at Forest Green Rovers, Dagenham and Redbridge and Bury to get some experience under his belt.
Bond then had permanent stints at Reading and West Brom before moving over to America in 2021 when LA Galaxy came calling.
