Patrick Vieira has been dealt a fresh blow ahead of the 2022/23 season as veteran midfielder James McArthur looks set to miss the start of the campaign through injury.
The 34-year-old Scotsman missed a significant portion of last season after tearing his hamstring in November before further injuries upon his return three months later limited him to only 15 Premier League starts under Vieira.
McArthur was handed a fresh one-year deal at Selhurst Park at the start of the summer but is now set to miss the entirety of Palace ’s pre-season as well as the beginning of the new campaign after it was reported in the Athletic that he’d picked up a groin injury.
READ MORE: West Ham set to beat Crystal Palace to Flynn Downes transfer as Swansea ace nears medical
That knock is expected to keep him out for around a month, though this could be longer given he will miss Palace’s preparations for the new season. The Eagles are set to fly out to Singapore next week to face Liverpool in the first match of their overseas tour before they fly down to Australia to play Manchester United in Melbourne and Leeds United in Perth.
Their opening game of the season then takes place on Friday, August 5 as they host Arsenal at Selhurst Park in the curtain-raiser for the 2022/23 Premier League season. Palace then play Liverpool at Anfield on August 15 followed by a home clash with Aston Villa five days later. McArthur’s return date will depend on how well his recovery goes over the next 4-6 weeks, though he’ll no doubt be a big miss for Vieira, given the senior role he plays on and off the field.
“We’ll have to manage him well and try to have him as much as we can on the field because he has this competitiveness, he's a real competitor on the field,” the Frenchman told football.london in April when asked about McArthur’s importance to the squad. “When he is on the field he guides positive talk and we have a couple of players who need that. To have him on the field is important to us."
McArthur’s injury has meant Palace are now stepping up interest in their midfield targets, with the signing of 22-year-old Cheick Doucoure from Lens close. The club also intensified interest in Swansea midfielder Flynn Downes, though the lifelong Hammers fan seems to have opted to play European football at his boyhood club instead.
The club were also linked with a move for Rangers’ Joe Aribo during the window, though the versatile midfielder now looks set to join Southampton instead. Palace’s only confirmed signings so far this window have been the free transfers of teenager winger Malcolm Ebiowei from Derby County and England international goalkeeper Sam Johnstone after his contract at West Brom expired.
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