Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson announced that Eberechi Eze has suffered an injury and this could now see him hand a full Premier League debut to David Ozoh – in our view at least.
The Crystal Palace manager was talking in his press conference ahead of the Premier League match against Nottingham Forest.
So, what’s the latest on Eberechi Eze at Crystal Palace and how might his injury see academy product David Ozoh start? Let’s take a look…
Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze suffers injury
With the Eagles picking up a win against Manchester United, it felt like the Nottingham Forest match could have been perfect for them to pick up momentum.
The mood may have shifted a little following what Roy Hodgson had to say about Eze in his press conference today.
Journalist Edmund Brack shared that Hodgson said: “Yes, he’s got a hamstring problem. It’s a serious injury.”
It is a huge blow for the Eagles that their talisman Eze is now injured and it will now be a very tough game against Nottingham Forest, but it could be one where Ozoh is given a chance.
Roy Hodgson could hand David Ozoh his full Premier League debut for Crystal Palace
David Ozoh has already featured in the first-team squad at Palace on two occasions. He was given his debut off the bench by former manager Patrick Vieira. More recently, Hodgson brought him off the bench this season in the Carabao Cup loss to Manchester United.
In that match, the central midfielder looked good and showed glimpses of promise. It didn’t look like he was out of place against tough opposition.
Ozoh also had a chance to score and he would have been gutted that he failed to hit the target. No doubt part of the reason for him missing was because he rushed the opportunity.
With midfielders Eze and Jefferson Lerma injured, Hodgson does not have a lot of options. It feels like a match at Selhurst Park with pressure slightly off of the club due to the injury troubles is a perfect time to get Ozoh his full Premier League debut.
Hodgson has not been afraid to integrate an academy player if absolutely necessary as we saw him do with both Tyrick Mitchell and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in his first tenure.
It would no doubt be very exciting to see Ozoh given his full Premier League debut and the whole fan base would massively get behind the midfielder.
