‘This is the last thing Crystal Palace need – Oliver Glasner’s face says it all’
Oliver Glasner avoided a serious injury scare as Crystal Palace’s injury crisis threatened to worsen against KuPS on Thursday.
Daniel Munoz is already sidelined at Selhurst Park, with Daichi Kamada the latest to join him in the treatment room, and Ismaila Sarr jetting out to AFCON this month.
The Eagles have suffered several setbacks recently, and that was evident as Palace lost 3-0 to Man City ahead of their Europa Conference League game on 18 December.
Despite the defeat, Glasner’s side remain fifth in the Premier League table, but the form could not translate across to Europe, being held to a 2-2 draw by the Finnish side.
All was going well, with Christantus Uche continuing his scoring form against KuPS, until the 22-year-old striker went down in a heap, in need of medical attention, and then they required an equaliser in the second half.
Hearts in mouths as Christantus Uche goes down with an injury
After trudging off to the sidelines, he was eventually allowed back onto the field of play, lasting until the 77th minute before being replaced, but it was a heart-in-mouth moment for the Eagles.
Speaking live on TNT Sports (18 December, 8:22pm), Lucy Ward watched on as Uche limped to the edge of the field, saying: “The last thing Palace need is another injury.
“It just means that Glasner is going to have to use players he didn’t want to have to use tonight. His face says it all,” with the manager looking to 17-year-old Ben Casey as his replacement.
Sadly for the youngster, he was told to return to his seat on the bench, but at the same time, it was a huge relief for the Premier League side, who cannot afford any more injuries right now.
Oliver Glasner confirms crushing Daichi Kamada update in latest injury blow
As already discussed, Kamada is the latest player to join the ever-growing injury list, and Glasner will have feared yet another addition when Uche went down against KuPS.
The Japanese international could be sidelined for up to 10 weeks, potentially seeing him miss key clashes against Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea, as well as an FA Cup clash against Macclesfield Town.
It is certainly not ideal for the Eagles, who have already lost several big names to AFCON and injuries, and Glasner had already put those players first for the Europa Conference League game.
Both Jean-Philippe Mateta and Yeremy Pino were given rests from the start, though that quickly changed when the FA Cup holders were searching for a route back into the game at 2-1 down.
That did eventually come from Justin Devenny, but it was not enough to avoid the play-offs.