Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that a pre-match talk convinced him of Mamadou Sakho's ability to play a part against Bournemouth.
Palace lost to Bournemouth in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw against the Championship side.
Sakho was brought on after the hour mark, when centre-back Sam Woods appeared to pick up a small injury, and went on to score in the penalty shootout.
It was his first appearance since July after suffering a hamstring tear, and Hodgson stated that despite 'reticence' from the medical department, he allowed Sakho to play a part in the game after a pre-match talk with the France international.
"Mamadou hasn’t really played since Aston Villa," Hodgson told the club website.
"He had been out a long time before that and then got injured again, so he played very little football in the last season for us.
"He played 30 minutes tonight – well 45 minutes with the penalty shootout; he was on the pitch for a long time tonight after doing two training sessions, which is quite incredible.
"The medical staff were very reticent to let him play, they thought it was too soon and it wasn’t a good idea.
"But I spoke to him, and he thought that as long as he wasn’t thrown into the deep end, as it were, he could play a part in the game. He did and that’s another bonus for me."
