Alan Pardew will be welcoming back his captain today (Thursday) with the player returning the country yesterday after spending the past month with his national side in their successful Asian Cup campaign which was being hosted on home soil in Australia.
The 30-year-old scored a goal in the Socceroos opening game of the tournament before picking up an injury that left him out of a number of games throughout the tournament but upon making the semi-final, the skipper lead his side to the final before lifting the trophy at Stadium Australia on Saturday.
It was expected that the absence of the of the midfielder alongside Yannick Bolasie would affect Crystal Palace’s performances due to their glimpses of magic this season whilst they have been on the pitch for the Eagles but that was far from the case as the new manager has managed to get his side into a good run of form and make changes to the way that the team play, leading to higher possession statistics alongside a better completion rate.
Speaking about the Palace captain earlier on in the week, Joe Ledley who has often played alongside Jedinak in midfield spoke about his achievements this season and says that all of the players at the club can’t wait to welcome him back at training.
“I think he is a brilliant captain, player and leader for this club. He has been fantastic this season and that is just proven as when he went away he has gone on to win the tournament for his country and winning things is the best thing and that’s what he has managed to do,” he said.
“We can’t wait to have him back, he’s our captain, everyone looks up to him and he’s always disciplined as well off the pitch and that’s fantastic so we can’t wait to have him back really, it’ll be good for us.”
UPDATE: Mile Jedinak will miss Saturday’s game against Leicester City in the Premier League with a knock on his ankle which he picked up whilst on international duty. The Crystal Palace skipper last featured for the club against Queens Park Rangers on the 28th December when Keith Millen was in-change of the club after the sacking of Neil Warnock just days before.
