Crystal Palace striker to miss Conference League semi-final second leg but midfielder set for return

Crystal Palace striker to miss Conference League semi-final second leg but midfielder set for return

Will Hughes is in line to return to the Crystal Palace squad against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday.

Boss Oliver Glasner confirmed that the midfielder has recovered from the illness which forced him to miss the defeat to Bournemouth.

But Evann Guessand is still not ready to return, however.

“Evann trained today, but just partly,” Glasner said. “It’s too early, so he doesn’t make the squad tomorrow. We have to decide on a daily basis.

“It’s now the last part of his rehab: getting integrated into team training.

“We don’t have lots of training [between matches]. That’s why we really use every session we have. It’s different if you train individually, but he’s still doing it with the rehab coach individually.

“When you’re part of team training, this is what he needs now, but like always, a player’s welfare is most important.”

Borna Sosa, Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucoure also remain sidelined, however, as Palace look to book their place in the final, leading 3-1 from the first leg.

“Borna Sosa is still out – he wasn’t available for Bournemouth and is also still out – and of course Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré [are unavailable],” Glasner said.