Desperately looking to turn their form around following a disastrous start to their Premier League campaign, Crystal Palace could be boosted by the return of a player who’s been sidelined for the last four games.
Crystal Palace injury news
Although injuries to the likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Adam Wharton have far from helped their cause, plenty of other factors have been at play in Palace’s incredibly disappointing start to the season. Currently sat in the Premier League’s bottom three, the Eagles have been a shadow of the side that defeated Liverpool at Anfield during the early months of Oliver Glasner’s tenure.
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The Eagles recently came full circle on that front just before the international break, when the Reds reversed their fortunes to pick up a narrow 1-0 victory and compound Palace’s misery just seven games into the season.
Truth be told, the international break came at the perfect time for Glasner and his side, who will likely be boosted by one returning player, albeit not until after their return to Premier League action on Monday night.
As reported by LondonWorld, Cheick Doucoure is set to return to Crystal Palace training and will be in line to return after the Nottingham Forest clash – by which time, he will have missed five matches for the Eagles.
In search of their first league win of the season, the return of the defensive midfielder should at least help to solve Glasner’s leaky defence in the coming weeks.
Glasner revealed the news, saying via the official Crystal Palace website: “No new injuries, so that’s a positive thing. They all came back from their national teams in good shape.
“But also no new injured players are coming back, so we have the same squad [as against Liverpool]. It looks like Cheick Doucouré will train with us after the Nottingham [Forest] game – at least parts of the training sessions – so he’s maybe the guy who is closest to returning.”
"Quick" Doucoure could spark turnaround
Sealing victory against Nottingham Forest on Monday and welcoming back Doucoure would have Palace’s week off to the perfect start. The defensive midfielder will be desperate to finally put his injury struggles behind him, having also missed the majority of the last campaign before struggling so far this season.
Palace will certainly share that sentiment given how fragile they’ve looked at the heart of their midfield without their £70,000-a-week star, who U23 scout Antonio Mango previously dubbed “quick” and “strong”.
Next to Wharton, Doucoure may even help to take those at Selhurst Park back to the type of form they initially showed under Glasner. As things stand, of course, the Eagles are heading down a dangerous and unexpected path towards Premier League relegation. Despite having plenty of time to turn things around, Palace must get back to winning ways as soon as possible.