Adam Wharton could undergo groin surgery in just over a week’s time, according to Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner.
Wharton has been taking painkillers to play through an underlying injury since picking up the problem while at Euro 2024 with England over the summer.
The 20-year-old midfielder has started every Premier League match for struggling Palace so far this season except for Monday night’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, when he was named among the substitutes.
Palace have been mulling over whether to send Wharton for groin surgery, but a final decision has not yet been taken and it hinges on the club finding a period of the season in which they are willing to lose him while he undergoes the operation and then recovers.
But speaking on Friday, Glasner appeared to indicate that Wharton could undergo surgery as soon as early November.
The Austrian said: “[We have] not [discussed it] in detail. When we take the final decision, we will inform you all.
“He will be with us at least the next week, we have three games. We play Sunday at Tottenham, Wednesday at [Aston] Villa, and then the Wolves away game [on November 2]. He will be with us for these next three games, and then we will see what happens.”
Tottenham are the visitors to Selhurst Park on Sunday, and Glasner said: “The same squad is available as Monday in Nottingham. No more injuries, but also no one is coming back. Cheick Doucoure has had one training session with us this week, but it still takes time.”
Palace are still winless in the Premier League this season and sit in the relegation zone after eight games, piling pressure on Glasner despite his previously excellent start to life at the club after succeeding Roy Hodgson in February.
He said: “We have all had better moments in football than we have it now. We are always under pressure, especially if you don’t have the results that we all want. That’s normal in football. When you sign a contract as a manager, you know there will be times when you are under pressure.”
Glasner added of facing Tottenham: “It will be a very intense game. You don’t have time to press, you don’t have a lot of time to find solutions. But if you find them, you can create chances.”
