Why Chelsea FINALLY Turned A Corner.
Marc Guehi is a doubt for this weekend and Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson also shared that another defender has picked up an injury.
The Crystal Palace manager was talking in his press conference earlier today ahead of their Premier League match against Aston Villa.
So, which other Palace defender has picked up an injury alongside Marc Guehi? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Crystal Palace have managed to pick up seven points from their first four games and it has been a very good start to the season.
Hodgson spoke in his press conference and shared that James Tomkins, just like Marc Guehi, has picked up a minor injury.
The Palace manager said: “We have James Tomkins, who unfortunately is suffering from a minor injury, so he won’t be available.”
The £50k-a-week defender is no doubt a squad player now but to have two defenders in the same position pick up injuries over the international break is not what Hodgson will have wanted to happen.
Crystal Palace’s match against Aston Villa will be tough
To have multiple injuries is not great any week, but to have them ahead of their trip away to Aston Villa is a huge blow.
Villa qualified for Europe last season. A huge reason for this is due to the fact that their home form was great under manager Unai Emery.
Now, Palace go into the game with only three natural centre-backs to choose from. One, Rob Holding, only joined the club on deadline day.
Tomkins is more used to Hodgson’s style so it would have been nice to have him available but sadly that is not the case.
Tomkins would most likely not have featured if he was available, but when Guehi cramped up in the last few minutes of Palace’s game against Sheffield United, Hodgson turned to Tomkins and brought him on.
This highlights that the manager sees Tomkins as good cover and therefore it is definitely a blow to not have him involved in the squad this weekend.
