Abdoulaye Doucoure has been playing through the pain barrier for Watford in recent weeks, including on Sunday when he scored the opening goal against Bournemouth.

The French midfielder was dosed up on painkillers during the match at the Vitality in order to manage "discomfort" and contribute to the 3-0 win.

After the match, head coach Nigel Pearson revealed that the player had not trained in the week before and was a late addition to the match day squad, but said he was very pleased with the effort he showed during the game.

"He's not trained this week, he had a fitness test on Saturday, so he's been playing with discomfort for a while and it was touch and go whether he played," said Pearson.

"But he's a very resilient lad and his demeanour's been very positive. He was desperate to play, but he's only played today because of conversations that we, as coaching staff, had had with the medical staff to make sure we understand what the risks are. He's shown today how much performing means to him and his team-mates and you need that desire in the situation that we find ourselves in."