Christian Kabasele says he has taken little time to adapt to Javi Gracia’s style of coaching despite being injured for much of the Spaniard’s reign.

A hamstring injury sustained in Gracia’s first Premier League game – a 0-0 draw at Stoke City on January 31 – saw Kabasele miss almost three months of football.

There were few signs of rustiness as the centre-back returned to the Watford starting XI on Saturday, and he says working with Gracia in training made the comeback as smooth as possible.

Kabasele said: “It wasn’t hard because I worked with him for two weeks after the injury before playing so I had time to see what his ideas were and it was easy for me.”

While stepping back in to the Watford team was straightforward for the 27-year-old – Watford ending a five game run without a clean sheet was evidence enough of that – time of the sideline was still tough.

Kabasele says he refused to be downbeat about the injury and remained focused on ensuring he was at his best when he did finally make a return to fitness.

“I think for all the players it is not easy when you do not play,” the Belgian said.

“You have to make sure that when you do come back you can help the team and it is very difficult. I hope that now the injuries are behind me and I can keep going.”