Slaven Bilic said Ismael Sarr will not rest in Watford’s last game before the World Cup in Bristol City on Saturday.
The Senegal striker is the only Watford representative to go to the tournament in Qatar, but Bilic insists the club will come before his country.
“Why not? Everyone will play. Harry Kane will play, Luka Modric will play, all the great players will play,” Bilic said. the athlete.
“We have a game and it is very important to us, and I would like to avoid it, of course we would like to do that, but he is a huge player for us.”
Sarr will certainly be included in Senegal’s squad for the tournament on Friday by coach Aliou Cissé. A source close to the 24-year-old has insisted he will not expect special treatment and will play the match at Ashton Gate fully focused on finishing the first part of the season at the highest level.
Bilic says he is proud of Sar, whom he calls “the humble and honest man” and feels that focusing too much on what’s to come would be a mistake.
“You don’t want to think negatively; my policy is always if you walk on eggs and try to save yourself, you are more likely to get injured.”
Sarr played 47 international matches and scored 10 goals for his country and played in the victorious Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon earlier this year after recovering from injury.
It will be nerves for all the teams entering the final round of matches, but especially Senegal, which saw Sadio Mane exit with a knee injury 20 minutes after Bayern Munich faced Werder Bremen on Tuesday.
Sarr’s Watford team-mate Omran Loza, who represents Morocco, was left out of the tournament after suffering a serious injury at Millwall.
Bilic, who represented Croatia in 1998, said: “I know the players, and I read about the situation (with players injured) like Reece James, Kyle Walker, Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, and a lot of players.” World Cup when they finished third.
Sarr played a key role in Watford’s victory over Reading on Tuesday night, assisting Joao Pedro’s second goal in the 87th minute, and the Brazilian also scored the first after 15 minutes.
Sarr and Joao Pedro are now the team’s top scorer with six goals, but the Senegalese scores the assists from four to two.
The win over Reading – Watford’s fifth in seven games – lifted Bilic’s side to fifth, just four points off the automatic promotion positions.
“I told him (Sarr) after the Blackpool game (where Watford lost 3-1) when his numbers weren’t great, you can’t go to the World Cup that way,” Bilic said. “The best players are playing every game and playing crazy and in good shape. And then his numbers went back to the normal numbers so I don’t want to be negative.”
Depending on how Senegal participates in the World Cup, Sarr may not be back in time to play in Watford’s first game after the break against Hull on 11 December with the next at Huddersfield on 17 December – the day before the finals of the tournament.
Sarr was replaced by Vacun Bayo at the last minute and got a standing ovation as he walked around the far side of Vicarage Road after coming off the field on the other side of the dugout. At the end of the game, he waved to his family, who watched from the Friends and Family Pavilion next to Vicarage Road’s End of the Land.
Senegal, who are in Group A with hosts Qatar, play their first match of the tournament against the Netherlands on November 21.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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