Crystal Palace are set to face treble winners Manchester City on Saturday in the worst possible circumstances, as they are out of form and missing key players.
Eberechi Eze and Sam Johnstone are among the key absentees for Palace, who have not won any of their last five Premier League games, earning just one point in that time.
Odsonne Edouard and Jordan Ayew will also miss the City clash through injury and suspension, and it will be a severely depleted Crystal Palace side which travels to the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.
However, in a sea of recent bad news when it comes to injuries, Palace have now been handed a boost over two of their recently injured stars.
Jefferson Lerma and Tyrick Mitchell could return for Crystal Palace
A report from The Standard has now revealed that defender Tyrick Mitchell and midfielder Jefferson Lerma could both return on Saturday.
“Jefferson Lerma and Tyrick Mitchell could return from injury against City,” it stated.
Mitchell was withdrawn in the defeat to Bournemouth, meaning that Nathaniel Clyne filled in against Liverpool, whilst Lerma was withdrawn at Selhurst Park on Saturday with a hamstring complaint.
Both have been key performers for Palace this season, and there is a lack of depth in both positions, so if they are available, it will be a huge boost for Roy Hodgson.
Crystal Palace punished for poor squad depth
Whilst the sheer volume of injuries within the squad is abnormally high, perhaps as a result of Hodgson’s high training intensity, it has also highlighted how poor the depth is in the Crystal Palace squad.
In what was a predictable issue, Palace failed to address their depth problem in the summer transfer window, leaving Mitchell as the only natural left-back available, and he started every game when fully fit.
A muscle injury was inevitable for him as he had no rotational cover, and Palace are now looking for a left-back in the January window. Failing to plug the holes in the squad, whilst also refusing to give youth players any match experience, has meant that an already thin roster is down to its bare bones, leaving Hodgson short of options to pick from.
