Wharton, Lerma, Franca: Crystal Palace latest injury news and return dates ahead of Leicester City clash

After a tricky start to their Premier League season, Crystal Palace will be hoping for a big result against Leicester City when they return to action after the international break. The Eagles suffered consecutive defeats in their opening two fixtures against Brentford and West Ham, but a hard-fought draw against Chelsea saw them pick up their first point of the season.

Once league action returns, Palace will host the newly promoted Foxes at Selhurst Park. Leicester are just one place ahead of Palace in the table as things stand, with just goal difference separating the two. As both sides prepare for an entertaining outing next weekend, we’ve taken a look at the latest fitness updates for Oliver Glasner’s team.

Jefferson Lerma

Jefferson Lerma missed out on Palace’s recent trip to Stamford Bridge after damaging a tendon in his toe. However, some good news for the international break suggests that the midfielder could be back in action for when the Eagles return to Selhurst Park.

According to journalist Pipe Sierra, Palace’s medical team have authorised Lerma to link up with the Colombia national camp following a ‘rapid improvement in his tendon’.

Adam Wharton

Adam Wharton was the subject of plenty of interest during the summer transfer window. The midfielder has had ‘some issues with his body’ since returning from Euro 2024 but nothing to be overly concerned about, says Glasner.

The boss revealed that they opted to ‘give him a break’ against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup last month as he ‘hasn’t been able to do every single training’. The aim has been to focus on load management for Wharton to avoid aggravating existing issues. But an update from the Evening Standard claims that Palace hope the 20-year-old will be fit to face Leicester, despite his withdrawal from the England U21 camp.

Chadi Riad

Prior to their clash with Chelsea, the Palace boss revealed that they expect to be without Chadi Riad for ‘several weeks’ after he picked up an injury against Norwich.

“It is a little bit questionable at the minute. It looked really bad, and the next day he was very stiff in his knee,” Glasner said in his pre-Chelsea conference. “But the examinations were not so bad, but also not clear enough by the next day, so we have to wait now for the next two weeks to see if the knee is swollen to get the right diagnosis for the future.

“It doesn’t look so serious, we will miss him definitely for several weeks, but what it looked like is that the ACL is not ruptured, which is very important. We’ll see within the next two weeks.”

Matheus França

The Athletic reported last month that Matheus França had missed all of pre-season due to injury but he is thought to be close to returning to action. Glasner recently confirmed that the 20-year-old will be unavailable for ‘the next few weeks’ after suffering a fractured rib during training and stressed that he simply must rest to recover.

The latest update came at the end of August, with Glasner updating fans that França is ‘still out’ as he continues his recovery.

Rob Holding

Rob Holding was absent for Palace’s draw with Chelsea but it is not due to fitness related issues. Glasner recently confirmed the defender was available but provided the update that Holding is ‘training individually at the moment’.

Speaking to press during a conference, the Eagles boss continued: “We will talk together, he knows the reason. But it is something that stays between Rob and me. Nothing public.”