Troy Deeney misses training through illness with Watford expecting striker to take coronavirus test this week

Troy Deeney missed Watford training on Monday through illness, though it is not believed to be related to coronavirus.

The Hornets captain has been outspoken about returning to training due to his reservations about player safety and specifically his fear of passing on Covid-19 to his five-month-old son, who has had breathing difficulties.

Subsequently, teammate Adrian Mariappa and two other Hornets staff tested positive for the virus.

But despite missing training on Monday, Watford expect the striker to attend training on Tuesday, where he will take a Covid-19 test along with the rest of Nigel Pearson’s squad.

Deeney has been absent from training since 19 May, when players were permitted to return to group training under social distancing protocols as part of the Premier League’s Project Restart.

While Deeney explained last week that he only intended to miss the first week of training before rejoining his teammates.

“I only said that I wasn’t going back for the first week,” Deeney clarified on CNN Sport. “People took that as I’ll never go back.

“But everyone appreciates everything the Premier League is trying to do as well. I don’t think it’s a case of pure neglect in terms of, ‘we’re going back to work, get on board’, or it’s anything like that.

“There have very good lines of communication and I’ve maybe had four or five meetings now.

“I’m the captain of a Premier League football team. I’m not doing my job if I’m sitting back at home, saying to the players: ‘You win this game for me and I’m not doing anything’.”