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Football London
Football London
Sport
Kwame Boakye

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal injury update as Wilfried Zaha blow revealed and Michael Olise doubt

Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace on Monday in their first fixture after the international break, and Mikel Arteta’s side will be desperate to emerge from Selhurst Park with all three points as the race for Champions League football intensifies.

The Gunners currently occupy fourth spot in the Premier League, and are three points clear of fifth placed Tottenham with a game in hand. However, they could be below their north London rivals in the table if Antonio Conte's side beat Newcastle by two or more goals 24 hours earlier.

Manchester United are also still in the reckoning as they trail Arsenal by four points but have played a game more. And Arteta’s side may have been handed a crucial advantage ahead of Monday’s derby at Palace.

READ MORE:Arsenal's 31 first-team players' transfer fates revealed with four summer moves already agreed

The Eagles could be without Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise, with former out of the Ivory Coast squad that played England on Tuesday. Ivory Coast boss Patrice Beaumelle said after the match at Wembley: "After the first game, he felt something painful behind the hamstring," before adding that the Palace star is suffering from either a grade one or grade two hamstring injury - with grade one being the weakest form of problem.

"I asked him to come with the team for the game. He was so sad because he wanted to play. He is a very fast player - he needs his hamstring to play his game. I would have loved him to have played tonight with the Elephants."

Zaha had already begun treatment with Palace ahead of the clash at Wembley. Despite what Roy Hodgson previously referred to as incredible "powers of recovery" that Zaha possesses, the attacker is still likely to be a doubt for Monday's clash.

Meanwhile, Olise withdrew from the France Under-21 squad after suffering a foot injury. The problem was described as "inflammation", which prevented the former Reading star from training properly.

The absence of Zaha and Olise would be a major blow for Palace boss and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira as both players have played an integral part in their impressive season. Olise in particular is attracting interest from England boss Gareth Southgate, who is reportedly hoping to persuade the 20-year-old to represent the Three Lions - despite accepting a call-up to the France Under-21 team.

Meanwhile, the Gunners expect to have Bukayo Saka available for the trip to south London after he withdrew from the England squad after testing positive for Covid-19. Gabriel Martinelli should also be fit after he missed the 1-0 win at Aston Villa due to illness.

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