BEN FOSTER faces a race to be fit for tomorrow's (Saturday's) Premiership encounter with Everton.

The England keeper spent Wednesday night in hospital after injuring the back of his left leg making a stunning double save during the first-half of the 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic.

Alarm bells were ringing when physio Andy Rolls came up to meet the Watford manager at the post-match press conference, raising fears Foster could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. However, Boothroyd revealed the keeper has "a bad dead leg" and is "touch and go" for Saturday.

"He's got a knock on it and he felt like he couldn't kick the ball," said Boothroyd, who contemplated replacing Foster with Tamas Priskin and asking Darius Henderson to go in goal during the game.

"He needed to keep it moving but you can't really do that when you are in goal. He didn't really have much to do in the second-half and his leg just stiffened up in the dressing room after the game. We are just monitoring him at the minute."

The attack-minded Boothroyd defended his decision not to name a reserve keeper on the bench and also felt Foster's injury did not contribute to his side's poor showing in the last two thirds of the match.

"Not having a keeper on the bench just gives me more attacking options," he explained. "You do leave yourself wide open when you do that and the more cautious members of my staff felt we should have had a keeper on the bench but Ben just doesn't get injured and it was just one of those things.

"I was going to bring him off at one point but he said he was OK.

"He's a presence and if he's not 100 per cent right then that can affect us. I don't think we missed him too much as all he did in the second-half was catch it and throw it but if they had had 11 men then I think we would have done.

"His save was brilliant and he is absolutely brilliant," added the manager. "I can't speak highly enough of him and the strides he has made are incredible. I think he should be England's number one."

Foster will head back to Manchester United in the summer and the chances that he will leave Watford with their Premiership status in tact are fading fast.