Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is expected to be available to face Manchester United on Monday night after recovering from a knee injury.
Guehi sustained the injury in the first half of Palace’s 4-1 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion in February before undergoing an operation. But the 23-year-old has now returned to training as normal and is set to be fit for the visit of United.
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Meanwhile, midfielder Eberechi Eze is also due to return after missing the 1-1 draw with Fulham last Sunday due to a knee problem.
The pair returned to training on Thursday after manager Oliver Glasner afforded his squad four days off to rest and recover following four games in quick succession.
“It’s very positive news – both of them are fit,” Glasner said. “Both trained – the players were off after Sunday and we started yesterday preparing them for the Man United game.
“Both trained in the full session and again today, so it looks good. If everything continues as we expect, both will be in the squad.”
Guehi will be targeting a place in the England squad for this summer’s European Championship, hoping to add to the nine caps he has picked up for his country and Glasner praised his attitude and application during his recovery.
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“He worked very hard in rehab,” Glasner added. “It took maybe one or two weeks longer than we all hoped, but he has such a great working attitude.
“Hopefully everything is fine with him and he can play a lot of minutes. I see his working attitude, he’s outstanding. He’s got a lot of quality but he is also very professional, hard-working, always wanting to improve.
“He is getting back to the team now with rehab. He is a fantastic player and we will support him as well as we can.
“We hope he plays some good games for us and for England in the Euros.”
‘Guehi’s return will provide further leadership and quality’
Guehi’s return will be a significant boost for Palace and Glasner, although they have coped well without him. Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Richards and Jefferson Lerma have all deputised in the middle of a back five but the return of the team captain will provide further leadership and quality.
He has formed an excellent partnership with Joachim Andersen over the past three seasons and his ability to carry the ball out from defence will benefit Palace in the new system under Glasner.
Should he be involved then it would be the first time he has played under the Austrian manager.
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(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)