Nigeria international Odion Ighalo has explained why he was not in the Watford squad that suffered a 3-1 loss to West Ham in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

For the first time since March 14,2015, the Hornets number 24 was not included in his team’s 18-man squad for a league game as manager Quique Sánchez Flores had one eye on Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Crystal Palace at the Wembley Stadium.

“I was just resting because of the FA Cup semifinal on Sunday,” Ighalo told allnigeriasoccer.com when asked why he did not feature in the game against the Hammers.

He added : “I am looking forward to the game(against Crystal Palace) the same way I look forward to every game but with special feelings.”

The 26-year-old has appeared 37 times for Watford across all competitions this term, scoring 16 goals.

He netted against Arsenal in the sixth round of the FA Cup in March and was also on target against Nottingham Forest in the fourth round.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel