Blow for Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha limps off vs Liverpool

By Conor Laird Published: June 24, 2020 9:10 pm
Last Updated: June 24, 2020 9:10 pm

Crystal Palace have this evening been dealt a hugely concerning blow on the personnel front, after star man Wilfried Zaha was forced off during the club’s meeting with Liverpool.

Liverpool on top

Roy Hodgson’s men are currently locked in action with the Premier League table-toppers at Anfield.

A Liverpool victory this evening, coupled with Manchester City failing to beat Chelsea in 24 hours’ time, would see the Reds finally crowned champions of England.

Palace, meanwhile, are enjoying an impressive campaign of their own, with the Londoners having no doubt been aware ahead of kick-off that a shock win this evening would lift them level with Tottenham in 7th.

As things stand, though, it is unsurprisingly hosts Liverpool who hold the advantage on Merseyside.

A stunning Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick with 23 minutes on the clock put Jurgen Klopp’s men in front, before Mohamed Salah doubled the hosts’ lead shortly before the interval.

30 – Trent Alexander-Arnold has been directly involved in 30 Premier League goals since his debut in August 2016 (5 goals & 25 assists), at least five more than any other defender in that time. Whip. pic.twitter.com/9Vv82hKeyM

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2020

Zaha concern

The scoreline, however, is far from Crystal Palace’s only source of concern at present.

Shortly before going behind at Anfield, the Eagles were also dealt a major blow on the injury front.

The player to have picked up the issue was Wilfried Zaha.

With just a quarter of an hour gone, Ivorian wide-man Zaha went to ground, before eventually limping off to be replaced by Max Meyer.

Though it was not immediately clear what the issue was, ‘Sky Sports claimed that he had also departed Palace’s pre-match warm-up two to three minutes earlier than his team-mates, perhaps indicating a pre-existing problem,’ as per the Evening Standard.

Palace now face an anxious wait for an update on the fitness of their star man, ahead of the season’s jam-packed run-in.