Chadi Riad injury update as Crystal Palace suffer double fitness blow ahead of Chelsea clash

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed that defender Chadi Riad will miss this weekend’s game against Chelsea after picking up a suspected ligament injury during the EFL Cup win against Norwich. He joins Matheus França, who has also been struggling with an abdominal problem, on the sidelines and will miss the game at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking after the victory, the Palace boss confirmed that the news was not good, adding to what has already been a challenging transfer window, with several clubs attempting to buy their best players. Joachim Andersen and Michael Olise have already left the club.

Glasner told reporters after the EFL Cup win on Tuesday night: “I don’t have a diagnosis right now. It looks like something happened with the ligament in his knee. We all hope it’s not too serious. It looks to me like he will at least miss the Chelsea game on Sunday. I will be able to tell you more on Friday. I can’t speak for him, but he says, ‘It doesn’t look so bad. I hope.’”

Goals from Eberechi Eze, Daichi Kamada, and a brace from Jean-Philippe Mateta booked Palace’s place in the third round, but the big concern now is whether they will be able to bring in another defender before the transfer deadline on Friday evening.

There is also a chance that Newcastle could make another strong attempt to sign England defender Marc Guehi, having already had five bids turned down by the South London club. If Palace were to lose Guehi, who has started every game this season, they would have little time to react. It would be another headache for manager Glasner, who has seen his squad depleted and in need of serious reinforcements to get the team back to where they want to be.

They finished 10th last season but have lost all their league games so far ahead of the Chelsea clash this weekend.