New midfielder Leandro Bacuna told head coach Slaven Bilic in the week leading up to Saturday’s win at Huddersfield that he was there and ready to play, even though he didn’t actually expect to start.

The former Aston Villa and Cardiff midfielder had not played a competitive club match since being sent off in Cardiff’s 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth on December 30, 2021.

His last competitive game of any kind was for Curacao in a 2-1 defeat against Indonesia in a friendly in September. He was sent off in that game too after picking up a second yellow card in the 80th minute, so his last competitive 90 minutes was in another friendly defeat to Indonesia on September 24.

“Looking back on the game it was great to be involved,” said Bacuna.

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“Coming back and playing after such a long time, I was delighted and very happy. Winning the game was a bonus.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to start but I was ready. The manager came to me and asked me how long I thought I could play, and I said to him that if he needed me then I’d be there.

“In the end I played nearly 70 minutes. I felt better as the game went on, and I was definitely sharper in the second half.

“Overall, I was happy with my performance. You have to get your match fitness somehow, and today was a good opportunity for me to do that.

“I’d been training with the group for a week or two before I signed, and I knew the players. It was familiar for me because everyone else knew who I was too.”

Bacuna admitted the Hornets took time to get into the game at Huddersfield.

“We were a bit sloppy at the beginning and I think everybody could see that,” he said.

“But once we got into the game we created a lot of chances. We didn’t have that finishing touch in the first half, but then in the second half Joao was so calm for the first goal. He’s a very good player.”

Bacuna also had words of praise for his midfield teammate Tom Dele-Bashiru.

“He’s got a lot of talent, you can see that. He’s good on the ball and confident going forwards. You saw that in the first goal, the way he went forward and then gave the pass to Joao.

“Today was very good. Obviously it takes time to get used to each other, but I’m very excited by it.”

It was four clean sheets in a row for Watford, and Bacuna pointed out that shutting out the opposition is always a team effort.

“Everyone praises the defenders for a clean sheet!” he laughed.

“But defending starts from the front: the strikers do their bit, then there’s us midfielders, and then the defenders are there supporting us. We all do our part and the team as a whole has to be praised for clean sheets.”