Wilfried Zaha is expected to be out for four weeks due to an injury sustained in Crystal Palace’s opening day defeat to Huddersfield Town.
The Ivory Coast forward left Selhurst Park with his right knee in a leg brace after Palace were beaten 3-0 by David Wagner’s newly promoted side. Zaha posted a picture of the injury on Instagram with the caption “God shall protect me” on Saturday evening before later deleting the post.
Despite initially hoping the player who signed a lucrative new five-year contract in May would be fit to face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, it is understood that tests have revealed minor damage that is likely to mean Zaha will not play again until mid-September. That means the 24-year-old would also miss Palace’s home fixtures against Ipswich in the League Cup and Swansea in the Premier League, as well as Ivory Coast’s World Cup qualifying double-header against Gabon on 2 and 5 September.
Frank de Boer’s side travel to Burnley five days later, when it is hoped Zaha may return, but his absence will be a major blow for the Dutch manager as he attempts to adapt to life in the Premier League. The product of Palace’s youth system scored seven goals and provided nine assists as he was voted player of the season before committing his future despite interest from Tottenham.
The Belgian teenager Jason Lokilo – who has made several appearances during pre-season – signed a new contract on Monday, although with Connor Wickham still yet to return from a long-term knee injury, Palace are lacking in attacking options.
De Boer has also been frustrated in his attempts to sign a goalkeeper, with reports linking them with Udinese’s Orestis Karnezis and Lukasz Skorupski of Roma.
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