Danny Welbeck could play some part in Watford's game against Everton next weekend when they resume their fight to avoid Premier League relegation.

The Hornets slipped back into the bottom three on Tuesday evening with defeat at Aston Villa, but now have more time to prepare for next weekend after slipping out of the FA Cup at Tranmere on Thursday.

Head coach Nigel Pearson said he is already preparing for the home game with the Toffees and is expecting his squad to benefit from the return of some injured players, including Welbeck and Will Hughes, while Tom Cleverley is not thought to be too far away either.

"I would expect Danny Welbeck to be ready to play some part by the time we get to the Everton game," he said.

"Cleverley's back outside so he'll be hopefully back in the next two weeks, so that's two more players of quality that we've not had and Will Hughes will also be ready, I would think."

Some of those players set to return may have even been able to play in the game at Tranmere, but the state of the pitch was such that Pearson felt it would have been too much of a risk.

With Premier League survival his clear priority for this season, the head coach opted to go with youth rather than gambling with others' recovery time.

"Our selection reflects the situation that we're in," he said after the match.

"That is that the Premier League's the most important thing, we played two nights ago and we've got players who are very close to being fit again who've got soft tissue injuries. You could see towards the end lots of very fit players out there couldn't walk, so I'm certainly not going to risk anybody because we have big games coming up in the Premier League."

One player who is unlikely to feature against Everton is winger Ismaila Sarr, who was injured during the goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

When asked about his fitness, Pearson simply said: "I don't think he will be ready for next week, but we'll see."