Expert: Crystal Palace squad is ‘split’ as four big-name absences analysed
Crystal Palace will have put special preparations in place for the players that they knew would be denied entry to Singapore and Australia.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Palace take on Liverpool in Singapore on Friday (15 July) before flying to Melbourne to face Man United next Tuesday (19 July).
But as relayed by the Daily Mail on Tuesday (12 July), Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise have not met the entry requirements for either country.
The big-name quartet’s vaccination status is unknown.
Dinnery claims that Palace will have planned for their squad being “split” as they gear up for 2022-23.
“It’s difficult,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“I’m aware of other squads who have travelled for pre-season and had their squads split.
“The important thing is that it isn’t something that is suddenly dropped on a club. They have been aware of this since those pre-season training programmes were put in place.
“Therefore training routines and schedules will have been managed accordingly. Just because the players aren’t there, doesn’t mean they aren’t getting what they need to do done.
“They need that intensity ahead of game week one and that will be in their sights. I don’t see it as a massive issue.
“You want your best players available but you also have to respect their decision with regards to vaccination. There are a lot of players out there who are unvaccinated for whatever reason.
“I will always maintain that they deserve the right to make that decision. It’s down to clubs to deal with it and find ways to accommodate them.”
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