Patrick Vieira has provided a fresh injury update on his Crystal Palace squad ahead of their Premier League trip to Newcastle on Wednesday night.
The Eagles were in action just two days ago as they suffered a 2-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Wembley, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount both scoring second-half goals to end Palace’s memorable cup run.
With a quick turnaround to their league fixture on Tyneside, Vieira spoke to the press on Tuesday afternoon and detailed the condition of his squad ahead of their trip to St James’ Park. The Frenchman confirmed full-back Nathan Ferguson remained on the sidelines while club captain Luka Milivojevic was also ruled out. The Serbian replaced Cheikhou Kouyate in the 85th minute at Wembley but couldn't help pull the Eagles back into the clash.
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“Our captain Luka will not be part of the group [to Newcastle],” said Vieira in his pre-match press conference. “He felt something in his hamstring so he won’t be part of the team. Nathan [Ferguson] is still injured. Outside of those two, everybody is good.”
Both Tyrick Mitchell (calf) and Michael Olise (foot) recovered from their respective injuries to feature against Chelsea and will both be part of the travelling squad to face the Magpies on Wednesday night.
Eddie Howe revealed in his pre-match press conference that his side would be training on Wednesday morning ahead of the night game at St James’ Park and said the team would still be without Callum Wilson for the clash. Wilson scored in the reverse fixture between the two sides at Selhurst Park in October but has been out since mid-January with a calf injury sustained against Manchester United.
January signing Kieran Trippier and Ryan Fraser are also unavailable for the Palace game, with the latter suffering a muscle injury in the home win over Wolves and subsequently missing Sunday’s clash with Leicester as a result. Howe will have match-winner Bruno Guimares available for the clash however as well fellow new recruits Dan Burn and Matt Targett, all three of whom have helped steady the ship on Tyneside no thanks to the club’s new owners who put up the money to bring them in during January.
When asked about the job Howe has done at Newcastle, Vieira said their recruitment had been a key reason for their upturn in fortunes, saying: “I'm not surprised because you just have to look at how well he did at Bournemouth. He has experienced players and he has a clear idea of what he wants from players. Bringing players in who play the way he wants to play the game. For some clubs, you can't make too many mistakes when you’re choosing new players and the ones he’s brought in have helped the team perform so it’s a credit to him.”
