Watford will be without six players against Blackburn Rovers with Tom Cleverly describing the absences as 'challenging'.
The Hornets will be without Giorgi Chakvetadze and fellow creator Rocco Vata will be assessed after picking up a knock in training.
They add to the likes of Kwadwo Baah (thigh), Yasser Larouci (groin), Daniel Bachmann (ankle) and Amin Nabizada (muscle), who all remain absent. Moussa Sissoko and Kevin Keben are also suspended to add to Cleverley's problems.
"We’re missing a lot of experience, quality and creativity. A lot of our players who are more likely to have a goal involvement are out on the sideline, which has been challenging," Cleverley said ahead of the trip to Rovers.
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“Rocco (Vata) had a worrying moment in training yesterday that we’re assessing as well, so it’s not been an easy period.
“I’m always one to find a solution not an excuse, but it’s a really challenging period when it comes to suspension and injuries. We’ll continue to try and find those solutions though."
As a result, it will be a youthful Watford squad that travels to Ewood Park. As their former Academy coach, Cleverley knows about the quality behind the first-team.
He's hoping that these experiences can help accelerate the development of a few talents ahead of next season.
“On Monday we had a 22-man squad travelling and 13 of those players were 21 or under, so the majority was an Under-21 squad,” Cleverley added.
“We don’t celebrate that because we lost the game, but it’s certainly exciting for the future. The exciting part is that the experience all those players have this season will put us in good stead for next year.
“They’ll develop and improve and be more confident in these environments like Fratton Park and at the weekend. We’re falling on the wrong side of one-goal margins at the minute, next year I don’t think it needs much improvement to make sure we’re on the right side of that.”
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