Crystal Palace are one of the most unfortunate sides in the Premier League when it comes to injuries.
Roy Hodgson lost Ebere Eze and Cheick Doucoure once again on Saturday, as the pair were both forced off the pitch as we suffered a 2-1 defeat at Luton.
It was a significant setback – especially as Michael Olise had only just returned to action, and our best XI was starting to take shape.
Now – after we lost Cheick Doucoure and Ebere Eze to injuries – another Crystal Palace player will spend some times on the sidelines…
Yet another blow for Crystal Palace after losing Eze and Doucoure
Well, Hodgson has now confirmed that Rob Holding faces a month in the treatment room.
Of course, the 28-year-old is nowhere near as significant as Eze and Doucoure, although it is still a setback to lose him ahead of a very busy festive schedule.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against West Ham, Hodgson said: “It turns out now he’s also going to be missing for maybe as long as a month, which is very disappointing for him and also very disappointing for us going into so many fixtures in the month of December.”
Holding has only made one appearance since his £4m move from Arsenal on transfer deadline day, which came in the 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester United in September.
The Stalybridge-born defender has otherwise been left on the bench by Hodgson in the nine Premier League outings since his arrival in south London.
Rob Holding injury should concern Crystal Palace fans
Some Crystal Palace supporters may not be too bothered by this news, seeing as Holding was unlikely to play ahead of Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi or Chris Richards anyway.
However, the fact that Crystal Palace’s No.4 has hurt himself in training should worry fans, as that is where most of our injuries seem to be happening.
Sam Johnstone recently revealed that Hodgson does not hold back in training if he thinks people are not giving 100%.
While that old school approach may work in some respects, it could be time to debate whether the 76-year-old’s methods are doing more damage than good as our injuries mount.
