Crystal Palace injury news ahead of Nottingham Forest clash

Patrick Vieira has provided an injury update on his Crystal Palace squad ahead of Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

Vieira heavily rotated his side for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup third-round draw with Newcastle United. 

The Eagles, who lost 3-2 on penalties at St James’ Park and exited the competition, had Jean-Philippe Mateta, Luka Milivojevic, James Tomkins, Sam Johnstone and Will Hughes all starting.

Odsonne Edouard was missing from the matchday squad for the 2-1 away win in the Premier League at West Ham last time out.

James McArthur, 35, has been missing for the entire season with hip problems. Nathan Ferguson has also been absent with a foot injury. 

However, Ferguson did manage 45 minutes against Arsenal’s U21 side.

Chris Richards, who has only featured four times since signing from Bayern Munich over the summer, has missed the last seven Premier League matches with a hamstring problem. 

The 22-year-old defender also recently ruled himself out of the USA squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“Everybody is feeling good, and everybody is ready for tomorrow’s game,” said Vieira.

“We will miss Macca, Nathan and Chris [Richards].

“Edouard trained this morning with the team, and he will be travelling with us. We will see tomorrow if he will be in the squad or not.”

When asked whether he hoped to have James McArthur back involved with the first team after the break for the World Cup, Vieira added: “Yeah, that is the target.

“But we don’t want to put too much pressure on his shoulders. We know how important he is to us. 

“But, at the same time, we have to think about him and see if he will be ready.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD