Palace handed Doucoure and Eze injury blows
Crystal Palace have suffered a double injury blow with fears that midfielders Cheick Doucoure and Eberechi Eze could be out for up to six months and up to four weeks respectively.
Doucoure suffered an Achilles injury after he slipped awkwardly playing a pass in the second half of Palace’s 2-1 defeat against Luton at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, while Eze picked up an ankle problem during a tangle with defender Gabriel Osho in the first half.
Although he tried to continue he was eventually forced off four minutes into the second half.
Mali midfielder Doucoure has been one of Palace’s most important players since his arrival from Lens in July 2022. The 23-year-old has started 11 of their 13 Premier League games this season, received treatment on the pitch before being taken off on a stretcher after 54 minutes with his hands covering his face in anguish.
Manager Roy Hodgson said after the game it was “not an injury that will keep him out for a short period of time”.
Eze has only recently returned from a hamstring injury picked up during a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in September which saw him miss three games last month.
“The way I saw it, he was brought down and as he was trying to get away, the player landed on him and has damaged his ankle,” Hodgson said.
The 25-year-old, who recently signed a contract extension until 2027, will now be absent for a further period.
Hodgson had a full complement of players to choose from against Luton for the first time this season, with Palace having been struck by so many injuries that in his pre-match press conference before the goalless draw with Nottingham Forest last month he produced a piece of paper with the names of his injured players.
“It’s our injury list,” he said as he unfolded the A4 sheet. “There are so many at the moment that I forget. It’s just in case I had forgotten.”
Palace have lost four of their last five Premier League matches and face a tough run. A trip to West Ham on Sunday is followed by back-to-back home games against Bournemouth and Liverpool. They then travel to Manchester City, before hosting arch-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion on December 21.
