Crystal Palace defender sets injury return target

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is targeting an end-of-season return to first-team action after being sidelined.

In the 4-1 loss away at Brighton in early February, the England defender suffered a knee injury in the first half, which has kept him out of action ever since. However, the 23-year-old is hopeful of adding to his 95 Premier League appearances before the end of this season.

“It’s going well, I’m lucky I’ve got good people around me taking care of me,” said Guehi about his injury to TNT Sports ahead of the match against Manchester City on Saturday.

“My family’s been there, physios have been there, the team have been around me, so I’m really fortunate everything’s going well.

“That’s the plan,” added the former Chelsea player about if he is targeting a return before the end of the season on 19th May. “Hopefully I can come back and help the lads in the last few games. I’m just waiting to get back in and play.”

Before picking up his injury, Guehi had been a regular for England, appearing in Gareth Southgate’s team throughout 2023 and looked to be a definite selection for his 2024 European Championship squad this summer.

And while Guehi admitted this is in the back of his mind, his priority is just to recover.

“It’s really important that you have perspective in the game and you focus long-term as well as short-term,” he said. “It’s hard to say, it’s in the back of my mind, but I’m just really focusing on the injury, making sure that my knee is good. It’s a bit of both, but more so making sure that I come back and I feel good.”

With current Eagles boss Oliver Glasner taking the reigns in SE25 a few weeks after the Brighton game, Guehi has not had the opportunity to play under the Austrian manager, but this has not stopped him from picking up what the former Eintracht Frankfurt coach has brought to South London already.

“A lot of running,” he joked when asked what the 49-year-old has brought to the team so far. “I think it’s good; we’ve needed that intensity and that drive to our game.

“[He’s also brought] a lot of work on details in the game. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is very detailed stuff. That’s going to help the lads, especially in a big game like [Man City].

“Especially in the last few games, we’ve shown signs of what the manager wants us to do. It’s been unfortunate at times. We’ve actually played well. We’re just missing that cutting edge.”