Hodgson explains Zaha’s FA Cup absence
Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Wilfried Zaha has a hamstring injury, but that he hopes his recovery will be swift.
The Ivory Coast international was not part of Crystal Palace’s match-day squad on Saturday, as the Eagles took on Watford in their FA Cup sixth round tie.
Palace lost 2-1 to the Hornets, with loan signing Michy Batshuayi scoring the only goal for Hodgson’s side.
Speaking after the game, Hodgson confirmed that Zaha had missed out after sustaining a knock during the last week’s loss to Brighton at Selhurst Park.
However, the former England manager confirmed that he was hopeful of a speedy recovery for the 26-year old, with the club hoping to have him back available after the international break.
When asked about whether Zaha’s injury would be a short one, as reported by Football.London, Hodgson said:
Well you never know with hamstring injuries and strains.
You have to be very careful especially with players as explosive as Wilf is.
He felt it after the Brighton game and didn’t train during the week, we took him out on Thursday just to test it slightly under controlled conditions but it was pretty obvious that it would have been an enormous risk to play in the game today and risk a much more serious injury.
With the two weeks coming up now we can only hope that he will recover in time for when we play our next game.