Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish alongside new manager Oliver Glasner (Photo: Getty)
New Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has revealed that Eberechi Eze is back in training after recovering from a thigh injury.
However, he is still not fit enough to feature in Saturday’s pivotal clash against Burnley but he may be back for next weekend’s trip to Tottenham.
Glasner was confirmed as Palace’s new manager on Monday after Roy Hodgson stepped down following a health scare and amid a terrible run of form.
The former Frankfurt boss has, on paper, a very easy game to start with against Burnley at home, but with Palace just five points clear of the relegation zone the pressure is on to hit the ground running.
That’ll be easier said than done, with the South Londoners’ best four players – Eze, Michael Olise, Marc Guehi and Cheick Doucoure – as well as several more stars, all out injured.
Doucoure is out for the season, while there is no clear timescale on when Olise and Guehi will be back.
But there was some surprisingly positive news on the injury front on Friday, as attacking midfielder Eze has trained with the team this week after missing the last three games with a thigh issue.
Eberechi Eze has missed Palace’s last three games with injury (Photo: Getty)
‘Tomorrow will be the same squad as at Everton, so nobody is coming back, but also nobody [new] is out,’ Glasner said in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
‘But Ebere Eze has had the last two training sessions with us, and looks good, so he will be with us the whole of next week and when he feels ready he’ll be in the squad [against Tottenham].
‘Will Hughes I also hope and think will be with us next week, and Marc and Michael we will see, but there was some good news [this week], especially Ebere training with us.’
Will Hughes could make his return from injury against Tottenham (Photo: Getty)
The England international has five goals and three assists in 20 appearances so far this campaign so the sooner he is back the better for Palace who have won just two of their last 16 games.
Ahead of his Premier League debut, Glasner added: ‘It’s a new experience, but what I always tell the players is the same for me: you can grow with your challenges.
‘It’s a challenge for me, it’s a challenge for all of us, but I’ve had a warm welcome from the players, the whole organisation, and also the British weather the last few days!
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‘And they’ve made it really easy to start. The players are listening and have great characters, and we’ve started with our impact softly – more meetings than training sessions on the pitch [so far] – but it was a start.
‘We all did it well together, but of course what’s important is the game tomorrow against Burnley. A home game, at Selhurst Park – we want to keep the three points at Selhurst.’
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