Crystal Palace dealt fresh injury concern just days before Newcastle United clash
Crystal Palace have been handed a fresh injury concern just days before their Premier League match against Newcastle United.
Crystal Palace striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is a doubt for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Newcastle United.
Palace were hammered 5-0 by rivals Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend but responded with a 2-2 draw away to Besiktas in the Europa League last night, easing some of the pressure on manager Pierre Sage.
Sage’s side fell behind in first-half stoppage time when former Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi opened the scoring, but fought back after the break with two quick-fire goals from Yeremy Pino and Jean-Philippe Mateta. However, Palace were forced to settle for a point after Junior Olaitan equalised in the 73rd minute.
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Around five minutes later, the Turkish side were reduced to 10 men when defender Umit Akdag was shown a straight red card for a wild challenge on Strand Larsen.
The Norwegian striker played on, having not long come on as a substitute, but later withdrew following an awkward landing. With only two full days to recover, Strand Larsen is a doubt for the visit of the Magpies.
Just over 12 months ago, when Strand Larsen was still at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle had a £55million bid rejected for the striker before turning to Nick Woltemade, who arrived from Stuttgart for a club-record £64million. The Magpies also signed Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55million.
Strand Larsen subsequently joined Palace in January and has led Sage’s attack at the start of the campaign, with Mateta sidelined by injury. The Frenchman’s start in Turkey was his first since the opening day of the season, and he now looks set to remain in the starting XI on Sunday.
Palace are already without former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, while summer signing Quinten Timber is also a doubt after missing the trip to Turkey. However, they could be boosted by the return of first-choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The England international has been sidelined for the last seven weeks after picking up an ankle injury during pre-season. Henderson initially played through the issue, featuring in Palace’s opening three Premier League matches, before the pain became too much.
The 29-year-old was not included in the squad against Besiktas, but Sage confirmed before the match that he could be involved against Newcastle.