I’M NOT PHASED NOW
Defiant Deeney is back on board and ready to make up for lost time
TROY DEENEY has been convinced to return to training with Watford.
The striker refused to take part in Phase One of Project Restart, saying that his priority was his five-month-old son Clay, who has suffered with breathing difficulties.
Deeney expressed fears that black, Asian and ethnic minority individuals were four times more likely to contract the virus. His stance sparked a flurry of insults towards him, such as wishing coronavirus on his son, while his wife was targeted on the street.
But he said: “I only said I wasn’t going back for the first week. People took that as I’ll never go
back. But everyone appreciates everything the Premier League is trying to do as well. I don’t think it’s a case of pure neglect in terms of, ‘We’re going back to work, get on board’. They have very good lines of communication and I’ve had maybe four or five meetings now.
“I’m the captain of a Premier League football team. I’m not doing my job if I’m sitting at home saying to the players, ‘You win this game for me and I’m not doing anything’.”
He added to CNN Sport: “Anyone that knows me knows I’m never scared of a challenge. But anyone that knows me also knows that family is the most important thing for me.
“I also think, ultimately, everyone knows that this is happening, the season is going to finish and you control the controllables, really.
“To be fair, if it weren’t for my missus I probably wouldn’t. But she’s adamant that we can do enough things to protect ourselves.”