Nathaniel Chalobah was coy over his possible return date from a fractured kneecap when he appeared on TalkSPORT this afternoon.

The 22-year-old said he did not want to speculate on when he might be back playing for Watford, but Marco Silva announced last week before his departure he expected the midfielder back in training next month.

"I don’t really want to say over the radio how long I’ll be out, but it’s not far off, not long hopefully," he said.

Chalobah was also questioned about new head coach Javi Gracia, who took over at Vicarage Road on Sunday night only eight hours after his predecessor had got the sack.

He added: "I haven’t met the new gaffer, but I’ll be down at the club and have a chat with him at some point.

"The team are trying to pick up as many points as we can. I’ve been to a lot of the home games while I've been injured and we look like we can do a little bit more. I’ve been to the training ground as well, the lads are working really hard and I’m sure the points will start coming."

A former Chelsea player, Chalobah has received praise from various pundits for his decision to leave the riches of Stamford Bridge in pursuit of more first-team football.

And his serious injury aside, you imagine he would have come close to starting every game for Watford this season.

"It was a difficult situation for me, a difficult position," he said of moving on. 

"I’d been at the club for a very long time, I support the club, I was ballboy at the games and I’ve been a big Chelsea fan.

"Last year, getting in the squad was a dream come true after so many loans.

"I was living my dream, it was a tough decision to leave because I wanted to play but the team was playing so well, I couldn’t really complain with the position I was in but like any young player, you want to play football.

"It was just the right time for me to venture out and try to see if I could get some games under my belt and see where it took me.

"It wasn’t an easy decision at all, but I haven’t been back to Stamford Bridge yet. I was looking forward to doing that but unfortunately I was injured."