When Dan Gosling fell to the ground near the end of the 0-0 draw at Bristol City, everyone inside Ashton Gate or watching on Hive Live would have seen his extremely animated, angry reaction.

The midfielder, who had done far more than fill in at right-back for a number of games, was stretchered off the pitch while still gesticulating and grimacing.

There were only minutes to go until the end of the game and the start of the four-week World Cup break, but Gosling knew the ‘popping’ sound he had heard meant bad news – and his emotions overflowed.

“My initial feelings were all about anger,” he said to watfordfc.com.

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“I knew it was close to the end of the game, and that would have been the chance for a break, to rest and have a mental break from the demands of our season.

“I was gutted, disappointed – every sort of bad feeling you can think of, and that really just spilled out towards everyone around me.

“I was just angry with the situation I found myself in, and what you saw was just me venting at everyone because I knew straight away what I’d done.”

Surgery on a ruptured Achilles followed a few days afterwards, and since then Gosling has been laying flat with his leg elevated, watching the World Cup on TV.

“You feel pretty good, but that can deceive you slightly in those early weeks,” he said.

“I’ve got to stick closely to what’s asked of me for the first two or three months.”

Could he played again this season?

"I'm not so sure," was the answer.

"Maybe if I pushed every timeline to the max, but I can't find myself thinking it's worth rushing and doing that. Let's see how we go in these first 10 to 12 weeks and have a look then."

With his teammates on their Spanish training trip – “I’m still part of the WhatsApp groups,” he said – Gosling is focussing on staying positive.

“A lot of it is about mentality and I’m someone who prefers to look forward.

“There’s a few other lads going to be doing rehab at the training ground next week, so there’ll be a bit of a bond.”

In interviews, both head coach Slaven Bilic and club captain Tom Cleverley, who spoke to the Watford Observer about his own injury, have paid tribute to Gosling’s attitude and professionalism, while many of his teammates and Watford fans posted messages of support on social media.

“I’m not really a social media person but I’m aware there’s been lots of messages from our fans, and I’d like to thank them for that.”