Watford finally release Senegal’s Sarr for AFCON

Watford have confirmed forward Ismaila Sarr has officially joined up with Senegal ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Equatorial Guinea. It will be recalled that the Premier League club said Sarr was injured after Senegal accused Watford of refusing to release him for the tournament, which started on January 9. Sarr has […]

Watford have confirmed forward Ismaila Sarr has officially joined up with Senegal ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Equatorial Guinea.

It will be recalled that the Premier League club said Sarr was injured after Senegal accused Watford of refusing to release him for the tournament, which started on January 9.

Sarr has been out of action since suffering a knee injury in the Hornets’ Premier League victory over Manchester United on November 20.

The 23-year-old’s fitness ahead of the tournament in Cameroon had been the subject of a club-versus-country row.

Sarr has been out with knee ligament damage since November and Watford invited his nation to send their own doctor to assess his injury.

FIFA rules state any player called up for international duty must be released, even if injured, so they can be assessed by the country’s own medical staff.

Ultimately it was mutually agreed that Sarr would travel to Barcelona for treatment.

After making good progress, the player has linked up with his country this week and could now be involved tomorrow.