Crystal Palace assistant manager Osian Roberts says that Patrick Vieira has recovered well from Covid-19 and could be back on the touchline for tomorrow's Premier League game against West Ham.
The Eagles boss returned a positive Covid test on Christmas Day which has forced him to miss Palace's last two matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich.
Assistant Roberts has taken his place in both games and led the pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of their London derby against West Ham on New Year's Day.
There, the Welsh coach confirmed that Vieira was feeling well and could even return to the dugout in time for tomorrow's game, depending on whether he did not return another positive Covid test in the morning.
"[Patrick] is doing very well," said Roberts.
"He's recovered well this week so fingers crossed. We'll wait and see what happens but hopefully, he'll be with us very, very soon."
When asked if there was a chance he would be in the dugout at Selhurst Park tomorrow, Roberts added: "Unsure at the moment. On a day to day basis, we're being tested so we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings us.
"From our viewpoint, we want him here, [we've] desperately been hoping that he'll be back at the helm. We're just waiting to see what today, tonight and tomorrow will bring us in terms of news."
Despite being physically away from his team, Vieira has still managed to communicate with his staff and his players regularly from afar.
For both their games against Spurs and Norwich he still picked the lineup on the morning of the game and has been on the phone to his coaches during the match to give direct instructions to them.
"The communication strategy has worked really well," added Roberts.
"We've been in regular contact with Patrick making sure we follow his instructions as best we can on a daily basis. We're fortunate to have a good group of staff who have collectively taken on more responsibility to ensure we help each other through this situation.
"Overall it's been done in a fairly smooth way and well operated."
