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Mark Wyatt

Schlupp and Ayew return early from international break as Kouyate is rested after fatigue

Crystal Palace duo Jeffrey Schlupp and Jordan Ayew are set to return early from international duty with Ghana along with the team's other Premier League representatives.

The Black Stars are due to play a World Cup Qualifier in Johannesburg this afternoon, though as South Africa is a red list country any player returning to the UK from there would face mandatory isolation upon re-entry.

As a result, both Schlupp and Ayew will skip the match and are expected to return to Palace early ahead of their clash with Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

The pair had both started Ghana's previous match on Friday against Ethiopia, which ended in a 1-0 victory for the hosts at the Cape Coast Stadium.

Schlupp was substituted early in the match due to a hamstring problem, though the severity of that injury is yet to be revealed.

Palace teammate Christian Benteke has also been in international action with his country Belgium, coming off the bench to replace Chelsea man Romelu Lukaku in their 5-2 away win over Estonia last Thursday.

Benteke, who has 16 goals in 40 appearances for the Red Devils, was then an unused substitute on Sunday evening as his country beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in Brussels.

The centre forward has so far this season been rotated with Jean-Phillippe Mateta up front under Patrick Vieira, though once he returns to the club he'll be competing with deadline day signing Odsonne Edouard for a spot in the team.

Belgium are in action again on Wednesday (September 8) as they play Belarus away from home.

Christian Benteke of Belgium during a training session with Belgium last week (Vincent Van Doornick/Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images)

Cheikhou Kouyaté started Senegal's 2-0 win over Togo last Wednesday meanwhile but had to be substituted 20 minutes before the end of the match due to experiencing fatigue and cramps.

The midfielder, who has played in all four of Crystal Palace's matches so far this season, was quickly taken back to the team hotel via ambulance where his condition slowly recovered.

On Friday the Senagalese team doctor Abdourahmane Fédior confirmed that Kouyaté was feeling better, he said: "His condition has improved. He feels very good. And we hope to recover it within one to two days ”

Senegal are in action again tomorrow afternoon against Congo, though it is believed that Kouyaté did not travel with the squad and so won't feature for the Lions.

Cheikhou Kouyate of Senegal during a 2019 African Cup of Nations match against Benin in Cairo (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Finally, Joachim Andersen put in an impressive display for Denmark in their World Cup Qualifier against Scotland in Copenhagen last Wednesday.

Playing alongside Andreas Christensen and Simon Kjaer in defence the new Palace recruit looked comfortable all game and topped the charts for touches (108) and passes (95) during the 90 minutes.

Despite his performance Andersen was rested for Denmark's next game - a 1-0 over Faroe Islands - but could be back in contention to face Israel at the Parken Stadium tomorrow night.

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