One player who will be ruled out in the new year for certain is midfielder Edo Kayembe, who has been confirmed as part of the DR Congo squad that will take part in the Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament, hosted in the Ivory Coast, starts on January 13 and DR Congo play their first match in Group F against Zambia on January 17, with games against Morocco (January 21) and Tanzania (January 24) to follow.

If they finish bottom of their group then Kayembe could effectively leave after January 24 but, with four of the six teams who finish third in their group qualifying for the round of 16, it’s likely he will be away until the end of January at best.

Reaching the quarter-finals would mean the midfielder is at the tournament until at least February 3. The semi-finals are then on February 7, with the third/fourth play-off on February 10 and the final on February 11.

Kayembe will be available to Watford for the game at Plymouth on New Year’s Day, but then not until the DR Congo are out of the AFCON.

That means he misses the FA Cup game with Chesterfield for certain, and even DR Congo exiting after the group stages means he misses the league games at QPR and Bristol City as well – and that’s the best-case scenario for the Hornets.

“We have replacements within the squad with players of a similar profile,” said Ismael.

“This is something we knew could happen and you have to deal with it.

“We still have a couple of games with Edo, and we need to manage each game and focus on Watford.

“Only after the Plymouth game is it time to think of the national team.”