Wilfried Zaha set for extended spell on the sidelines

Crystal Palace’s survival bid has suffered another major blow after the Guardianrevealed that attacker Wilfried Zaha is set to miss an extended period of time due to a knee injury picked up in the draw against Newcastle last weekend.

Zaha is believed to have picked up the injury in the first half of the 1-1 draw but soldiered on for the full 90 minutes and was sent off for a scan on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.

The 25-year-old has been referred for specialist treatment and diagnosis of his knee injury and is expected to miss at least four weeks of football, and potentially more if the injury is a significant one.

Roy Hodgson has already lost top scorer Bakary Sako for the rest of the season after he fractured his ankle in the away draw at West Ham last week but Zaha’s absence has left him even shorter of options in attack.

New signing Alexander Sorloth joins Christian Benteke as Palace’s only fit attackers at the moment.