How do you approach the game against Crystal Palace on Sunday?
“We have to recover. We have to recover from the disappointment of the game [against Fulham]. We have to assess all the players in terms of recovery and injury, whatever we have. Then we have to be positive, move forward and take a home game on. It’s another London derby against a team with dangerous players. So we have to be good ourselves and prepare the team.”
What do you make of Palace at the moment?
“I think Patrick has done a fantastic job since he has been there. They’ve always got dangerous players, young players, so they are maybe not as consistent as they would like, but the quality they have – Eze, Olise, Zaha obviously – these are players who can travel with the ball well, can attack, can eliminate you in one-vs-one situations. They have improved in the build-up phase of the game, their two centre-backs are good, and they are a competitive and top team.”
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How disappointed are you to lose Joao Felix in the coming games?
“Of course, we’re disappointed because he came here to play, he came on loan to play. You saw his quality when he was on the pitch [against Fulham]. To lose him for three games is a real blow for us but there’s nothing we can do. We just have to deal with it.”
You’ve said before the current injury issues are not something you can simply put down to bad luck, is there something your and other club staff are looking at because the situation – ten players out – is getting somewhat ridiculous?
“Yes, absolutely. We are looking all the time. We’re going over how they are happening and trying to evaluate the whole thing. Sometimes it’s difficult when you come in halfway through the season to know how things happened. It’s a bit of bad luck and there’s also learning for us all in terms of how we can improve.”
Is there anything you’ve been able to put your finger on so far?
“No, not at the moment. The nature of them, it’s almost like there’s not even a pattern. They are different problems. It’s tricky and it’s not like we are overtraining or anything like that. It is just something we certainly need to get to the bottom of.”
It’s been a while since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started a game, does he still have a future here because there are a lot of rumours about his future?
“Yes, he is here. He had a problem with his back after Manchester City. That’s why he was absent against Man City [in the FA Cup]. We just went for Kai [against Fulham]. Pierre is in our squad and he is important for us. I am pretty sure he can help us going forward.”
There was some speculation about Christian Pulisic and a move away this month, does his injury end all that?
“No chance, no, he will be out past that and there was never any consideration about him leaving anyway. He is a couple of months out. He is disappointed but he is optimistic about coming back quicker than two months. He is in that phase where he is keeping his fingers crossed and hoping his rehab goes well.”
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