Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson refusing to put time frame on Mamadou Sakho injury recovery

Setback: Sakho underwent surgery on a serious knee injury last season
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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_18 October 2019

Roy Hodgson says he is unable to put a time frame on the return of Mamadou Sakho as he looks to battle back from a thigh injury.

The French defender, who underwent surgery on a serious knee injury last season, made a brief return to the Crystal Palace side earlier this campaign but has since been unable to take part in full training.

Hodgson recently said he had hoped that the injury would not keep Sakho sidelined for months and had mooted the possibility of a return against Manchester City this weekend.

However, the former England manager is likely to continue with both Gary Cahill and Martin Kelly at the back, though James Tomkins is fit and available.

"I hope it is going to be soon [that he returns]," said Hodgson.

"He has basically been out since February if we ignore the couple of games that he was able to play before breaking down again. It is high time really that we get him back and he is working very hard to get back.

"I hope it is soon rather than late, but I can't put a time on it."

Two players, who Hodgson was not willing to name, picked up slight problems in Friday's training session and will be checked ahead of tomorrow's game.

"There are a couple of players we will assess in the morning, largely to do with today's training session, but they should be okay."

A point against the champions this weekend will see Palace match their best Premier League start after nine matches, going into the game just two points shy of City, and while Hodgson is wary that things will change across the course of a season he says fans should enjoy the moment.

"We shouldn’t stop fans enjoying it," he said. "We have a very loyal fanbase and they’re used to the ups and downs. I think they understand where we are, the limitations that we have in our squad and the size of our squad. If I can count on that, I don’t begrudge them getting enjoyment."

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