Crystal Palace suffer big blow as Roy Hodgson confirms duo will not be available against Leeds
Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Crystal Palace duo Vicente Guaita and Wilfried Zaha will not be available to play against Leeds United.
The Palace goalkeeper is suffering from a calf problem that he picked up during their 2-1 win over Leicester City.
They will also be without their star attacker Zaha who was forced off during the same game after straining his groin.
Manager Roy Hodgson is hopeful that the injury is not too serious and that he will be back before the end of the month to help the team in the final few games.
Speaking ahead of the game, he said (via The Athletic):
“It’s a groin strain so we’re going to have to look after him.”
“He’s having treatment but I’m hopeful that by sometime towards the end of the month we will be able to welcome him back but the doctors and physios won’t put a timescale on it.
“It’s always hard to cope without players of Wilf’s calibre. That’s not just us, it’s any team in the league. If you lose a player of such quality and importance, you’re going to miss him.
“But we’re lucky as in Jordan Ayew and JP (Jean-Philippe) Mateta we have two very good forwards who are bursting at the seams to get onto the field and see what they can do, so it’s a good opportunity against Leeds and possibly one or two other games.”
“The double whammy was Vicente Guaita who brought up something in his calf at half-time. He was feeling his calf and has a similar degree of calf strain so we’re without both of them (Guaita and Zaha) for the game against Leeds.
“We have to wait now to see how quickly our doctors can get them back on the field for us.”
Vicente Guaita (calf) and Wilfried Zaha (groin) will not play against Leeds, says Roy Hodgson.
Chris Richards and Nathan Ferguson also still out but not far from being back #CPFC
— Matt Woosnam (@MattWoosie) April 7, 2023
Roy Hodgson replaced Patrick Viera following his sacking during the international break. He has been brought in until the end of the season to help Palace avoid relegation.
His first game ended up in a thrilling win over Leicester with a stoppage time winner. The win took them to 12th in the table, 3 points clear of 18th place Bournemouth.
Leeds United meanwhile will hope to take advantage of Palace’s injury problems to pick up some crucial points of their own as they too fight to stay up in the league.
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