Hughes injury blow for Watford

Watford new boy Stephen Hughes is set to miss out on his home debut this weekend after injuring his foot in the 3-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Midfielder Hughes, a free signing in the summer from Everton, will undergo intensive treatment in the hope of recovering in time to face Rotherham.

Hughes's injury is bad news for Watford boss Gianluca Vialli, who will also have his fingers crossed that Heidar Helguson, Ramon Vega, Allan Nielsen and Espen Baardsen return from international duty this week unscathed.

Vialli, however, refused to be downcast after his side's openingday defeat. He said: "It's disappointing, but we know we are not at our best yet. We can only get better - we know what we've got to work on."