It has been confirmed by Adam Leventhal, Watford’s correspondent for The Athletic, that Andre Gray will be dealt with internally after footage emerged of him breaching lockdown rules, for the second time since June.
The 29-year-old has only just recovered from an injury in pre-season before picking up another injury against Preston North End on the weekend.
Leventhal tweeted this earlier today:
#WatfordFC latest
Club investigating circumstances of Andre Gray’s 2nd breach of lockdown rules in 5 months (poker with friends on Sat). Being dealt with internally inc talks with player, head coach & hierarchy re punishment. Club say no other player present.
— Adam Leventhal (@AdamLeventhal) December 1, 2020
With just one goal so far this season and players ahead of him in the pecking order, reigniting his Watford career will be a tough ask, with head coach Vladimir Ivic wanting all players moving in the same direction for the same goal.
“The most important for me is to unite the group,” he said. “All of us have the same goal, all of us work for the team. You have to give your maximum every day, it doesn’t matter if it’s practice, or if it’s a game.
The Watford hierarchy, who are notorious for being harsh with the sacking of their managers, will deal with the situation and punish Gray for breaching lockdown rules yet again.
“I will speak with him, I didn’t speak with him yet. We will do it,” Ivic admitted.
“We know that he’s our player. We need to think about other players here, about the discipline, what we want to have in our team because without that, we cannot succeed. No chance.
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“Andre, I believe he understands what’s happened and for sure, it’s not a good moment for him. If you ask now about our fans how they will react, in this moment, I don’t know.
“I’m sure that no one likes it and no one is proud because of this. People can make mistakes, but they need to take responsibility for these mistakes and don’t do the same mistakes.”
It is yet to be confirmed how strict this punishment is set to be, but it is confirmed that Gray will miss out of tomorrow’s game due to injury, who may be sitting on the sidelines for even longer than his injury lasts for.
Watford next go in action against Nottingham Forest tomorrow night – the Hornets have the chance to jump into the automatic promotion spots, depending on other results.