Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has provided a fitness update on injured striker Christian Benteke.
The Belgium international has been sidelined since early October after undergoing knee surgery, with the initial timeline suggesting he wouldn’t be back fit until the new year.
However Hodgson has confirmed that the 27-year old has been working hard to beat his schedule, with a return before the end of the year now not entirely impossible.
Talking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Tottenham at Selhurst Park, Hodgson said:
We don’t know when [he will return]. He is training at the moment, but with limited weight bearing, and we have to be careful with the knee.
It will take time, but the way it is going is good.
The medical staff and the sport science staff are very pleased with where he is at this moment in time, but there’s no point in talking about him when we are talking about a game on Saturday.
It will take longer than a few weeks, because it was an operation on his knee.
But he hopes to be back before the conservative projected time and he is working very hard to fulfil this promise.
Since withdrawing from international duty in September, Benteke has missed seven Premier League games for Palace, who currently sit in 14th place in the table.
The Eagles now have nine games remaining before the turn of the year.
