Any player being carried off on a stretcher is gut-wrenching, but when it’s Imran Louza and Watford have had an all-too-brief taste of the difference he can make, it’s even worse.

The Moroccan has only just returned to action following knee surgery at the end of last season, but in the win over Norwich he showed just how pivotal he could be for a team that has lacked exactly what he offers.

So to see Louza head down the tunnel on a stretcher at The Den last night made for grim viewing, particularly for head coach Slaven Bilic who said after the game that the midfielder had been taken straight to hospital for assessment of an ankle injury.

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Bilic discusses failure to put two performances together

Not acceptable, not good enough, not fair on the fans

The big problem is, Bilic does not have another player who can come close to offering what Louza does – but he tried to stay philosophical.

“Every team depends on one or two players, even the best,” he said.

“Barcelona without Messi, Croatia without Modric, even the best teams who have squads full of the best players.

“There is no-one else like him in that position, other players are great when he’s around them. But we don’t have anybody like him and we can only hope it ain’t going to be a big injury.

“It is frustrating. It is a killer. But we have to find a different way to play.”

It was just another injury blow for a Watford side that has never been able to field what most people would feel was its best 11 this season.

It didn’t explain away the performance against Millwall, but Bilic admitted it is taking its toll.

“I don’t want to make excuses but we have way too many players injured. We started the game without important defenders and then after 15 minutes we lose Louza too,” he said.

“When you lose 3-0 anything you say sounds unimportant. But losing a player like him is a big blow. We lost our captain from the Norwich game, who was our rock, and then we lost Imran so early.

“We started ok, we go 1-0 down, then we lose Imran, then it’s 2-0 then 3-0. We didn’t have time to settle down and start to play.

“But I still expect us, with the players we have, to create more.”

Bilic had said before the game that Millwall would be an aerial threat, especially at set pieces. He told the media afterwards he and his staff worked with the players on that particularly in the days leading up to last night’s game.

“It was a bad game and a bad evening for us. Three very simple goals conceded from situations where we knew they would be good. We prepared the team for that but we conceded goals cheaply that were very, very disappointing.

“Also we created almost nothing concrete, up until the last couple of minutes when had one or two chances.

“At both ends of the pitch we were simply below par. It’s the inconsistency. We play one good game, get one good result and then, bang.

“You take a step forward and as a management team you want to build on that. We beat Norwich and now, while we’re not back to square one, we have taken a step backwards.”

With Craig Cathcart rested as a precaution having returned from injury in the win over Norwich, Mattie Pollock came in for his first league start – and promptly saw his header land perfectly for Millwall’s hat-trick hero Tom Bradshaw to open the scoring after seven minutes.

“I am so gutted for him because he was unlucky,” said Bilic.

“His header takes a ricochet and then their striker hits a great finish. Pollock was very unlucky in that situation, and it affected him for maybe 20 or 25 minutes after that.”

If there were a plus point it’s that Millwall didn’t add to their goal tally in the second half but, as Bilic conceded, they were happy to stick with what they had.

“Second half we had possession but Millwall also stopped pressing us. They were happy with the situation and we looked like we were starting a few good things but simply wasted them.

“We didn’t deserve anything tonight. It was a fair result. I’m very, very disappointed.”