Cheick Doucoure stayed on the bench for the entirety of Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle on Saturday.
Oliver Glasner opted not to use the Mali international at all for the visit of the Magpies, despite the Crystal Palace No.28 impressing in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa the week before.
Fortunately, we managed to get a result without the £21m man as Daniel Munoz rose highest to power home a 94th minute equaliser with his head – which leaves us 17th in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 13 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 9 |
However, after such an effective display at Villa Park, a number of Crystal Palace fans are understandably wondering why Cheick Doucoure was left out.
Based on past comments from Glasner, we think we know the answer.
Oliver Glasner cautiousness was surely the reason for Cheick Doucoure absence
Ever since replacing Roy Hodgson – who was careless with injured players – the Austrian has regularly stressed the importance of not rushing absentees back to action.
That was even apparent before the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, as Glasner revealed Eberechi Eze wanted to play, but was left out for one more match following his recent hamstring issues.
The 50-year-old delivered a similar sentiment when Michael Olise was approaching a return to full fitness back in March, saying: “After the national team break he can be with us in training but he’s had injuries so we have to take care of him… it’s important to take care of all our players.”
Therefore, seeing as Doucoure has already suffered setbacks so far this season, we believe Glasner is taking a measured approach with the 24-year-old right now, giving him enough minutes to build up some match fitness, but making sure not to overload the Malian.
Crystal Palace fans could soon be in for a treat
When Adam Wharton returns – Glasner is expecting him back within two weeks – Crystal Palace fans could witness a highly effective midfield partnership.
On paper at least, Doucoure and Wharton seems to tick every box.
Sadly, injuries have meant we are yet to see them start a game together – in fact, they have played so few games alongside each other, the image below is the only photograph involving both of them.
The England international offers end product in the final third, vision and an elite range of passing which the Malian does not possess, although Doucoure is more robust in the tackle and appears to be a greater physical presence.
Therefore, we expect Wharton and Doucoure to compliment each other well – hopefully, once they get on the pitch together, they can avoid injuries and stay there.
