Some bad news for Crystal Palace and Cote d’Ivoire fans as Wilfried Zaha could be ruled out long-term due to a hamstring injury.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson made the announcement in the post-match interview after Palace’s Premier League game against Newcastle United that saw midfield star Wilfried Zaha coming off in the 58th minute of the game due to an injury.
“We don’t know how long it’s going to keep him out but he certainly won’t be available for this game and it could even be much longer than that,” said Hodgson.
“You never know with these hamstring injuries. Wilf is incredible in terms of recovery so I wouldn’t want to put a definite timeline on it, but it is a muscle strain and all muscle strains take time to heal.”
Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace reacts after picking up an injury. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Zaha has been one of the in-form players in England’s first division this season and has been the key player for the South London side. A hamstring injury is always a worrying sign and Ivory Coast will be hoping that the midfielder is fit in time for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers if it is a long-term injury as he will be crucial in helping the Elephants succeed.
The Ivorian was in terrific form with 9 goals and 2 assists in 19 appearances for the Eagles. Zaha becomes the 10th first-team Crystal Palace player to be ruled out due to injury.
The team has been without first-choice goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey for most of the season. Connor Wickham, Mamadou Sakho, Jeffrey Schlupp and James Tomkins have also been ruled out already. Zaha was not the only player to get injured this past week as James McArthur and James McCarthy also suffered from injuries, keeping them out indefinitely.
Crystal Palace sit 13th in the Premier League table and a win against Leeds United would take them 1 point ahead of Arsenal in 10th place. It has been a season of ups and downs for Roy Hodgson’s side but injuries have definitely played their part.
The Selhurst Park faithful will be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes against Leeds in hopes of being in the running for a top-half finish in the Premier League table even though their star player, Zaha will be missing.
