Quqiue Sanchez Flores says Odion Ighalo is in the right frame of mind to play against Aston Villa on Saturday, despite the death of the Watford striker’s father on Monday.
Paul Ighalo passed away just hours after his son had played for the Hornets during the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Watford top scorer would’ve been granted compassionate leave by the Hornets if he had chosen to return to Lagos, Nigeria.
However, he decided to stay in England and see out the remainder of Watford’s Premier League campaign.
Ighalo has trained this week and Sanchez Flores says he is ready to play against relegated Villa on Saturday.
“He has trained every day in a normal way,” said the Watford head coach, who lost his father, Isidrom in 2013. “Nothing has changed in his training. He has a strong mentality. For me, life is always more important than your profession, but cultures and families work differently. From the moment I found out his father passed away, I asked him: ‘Do you want to go back to Lagos?’ He told me no because he will go there at the end of the season. He is sad but focused on the game. He wants to dedicate the match to his father. He is the kind of player who doesn’t need extra motivation. He is an amazing player, a player who scored lots of goals for us at the start of the season. He is very clever.”
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