Javi Gracia says having Troy Deeney back at full fitness is important for his Watford side.

Deeney came from the bench at Southampton on Saturday to make his first outing since suffering a hamstring injury in early October.

While he couldn’t inspire the Hornets to victory on the south coast, Deeney adds another useful option in attack for Gracia.

The Watford skipper formed a productive strike partnership with Andre Gray early in the season and Gracia says he is pleased Deeney is fit once again.

“I think it is very important and I want all the players to be fit. That is the most important thing for me,” Gracia said.

“Speaking about Troy, playing with Andre they were very important in the first games. They played well and scored goals.

“In this moment I think we are stronger with Troy back and he gives us another option up front.”

Deeney will hope to help the Hornets rediscover their form in front of goal after they have seen a number of chances go begging in recent weeks.

The 1-1 draw at Southampton saw Gerard Deulofeu miss a clear opening early on to carry on his struggles from the previous week at Newcastle United.

Gracia says the Hornets have been working hard to improve their conversion rate but says there are certain elements which can’t be controlled during match days.

“We try to train to improve on our finishing in different training sessions,” he said.

“You never know what will happen in matches because sometimes in a game different things happen.

“The game against Wolves we scored twice and then against Huddersfield they had lots of chances and Ben Foster saved us.

“In some games we have maybe had more clear chances and we didn’t score. Sometimes this happens and you do not know why.

“What we can do is keep working on the things that we can improve. We have good strikers and I know that it is only a matter of time before we score more.”