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Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

Injury blow for Crystal Palace as key man is set to miss Cardiff City clash

Crystal Palace are likely to be without Christian Benteke for their game against Cardiff City this weekend, Roy Hodgson has confirmed.

The Belgian striker is a doubt for the game after taking a blow to his cheekbone, which has forced him to miss training this week.

And Hodgson said that it is unlikely that the Palace striker will be able to face the Bluebirds on Saturday, although he has not yet ruled him out.

"We've picked up one [injury]. Unfortunately Christian Benteke took a nasty blow to the head 10 or 15 minutes before the end of the game with [Everton's] Michael Keane so he’s suffering from that blow," Hodgson said at his pre-match press conference.

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"We’ll see how it goes but he's very unlikely for Saturday. We haven’t ruled him out for next week [against Bournemouth]. He's damaged his cheekbone which has needed treatment that has kept him out of training this week."

Benteke has had a frustrating season, with the Belgian dogged by injury problems for much of the campaign.

He did, however, recently score his first goal of the season in Palace's 3-2 win at Arsenal which secured their safety in the Premier League.

But he is now set to join the list of players missing for the trip to south Wales on Saturday, along with long-term absentees Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Jeffrey Schlupp and Pape Souare.

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"Apart from Christian I've got a lot to choose from apart from those we talk about every week," said Hodgson.

Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Jeffrey Schlupp and Pape Souare will therefore remain absent until the end of the season.

For all your latest Crystal Palace news, opinion, analysis and transfer gossip, click here

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