Cheikhou Kouyate and Wilfried Zaha did not recover in time from their respective injuries to face Manchester City on Sunday, according to Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson.
The African stars picked up injuries after playing the entire duration of the Eagles’ goalless draw against Arsenal on Thursday at the Emirates Stadium.
The setback made them unavailable for Sunday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium as Crystal Palace suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Kouyate and Zaha joined Schlupp on the treatment table as the Ghana international continues his recovery from a hamstring injury while Anglo-Nigerian Eberechi Eze and Ghana striker Jordan Ayew played from start to finish at Manchester.
“Wilf, unfortunately, picked up a knock in the game against Arsenal,” Hodgson was quoted by the club website. “The turnaround has been quite quick, and we haven’t been able to turn him around in time.”
“Every time Wilf doesn’t play it’s a miss, that’s been well documented. We’d have loved to have him here – and we’d have loved to have had Cheikhou [Kouyate] here – but these things happen in a game of football and we’re fortunate that with a couple of days between the games we haven’t picked up more injuries than the one Wilf picked up.”
Zaha is Crystal Palace's leading top scorer with eight goals and two assists after 16 Premier League appearances this season.
Kouyate, meanwhile, has been an ever-present in Hodgson’s team since the start of the 2020-21 season. He has featured in all but one of their league matches so far.
They will be expected to be available when Crystal Palace host West Ham United at Selhurst Park for their next Premier League fixture on January 26.
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