Patrick Vieira makes Eberechi Eze fitness admission and confirms team news ahead of Newcastle

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has confirmed Luka Milivojevic picked up a knock against Chelsea over the weekend, and will not travel with the team to Newcastle today.

The club captain has not featured as much as he would have liked this season and his midfield role has been taken up by the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp, Conor Gallgher and Cheikhou Kouyaté.

Palace lost to Chelsea at the semi-final stage of the FA Cup, with goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount giving the European champions the win, meaning all attention has now been turned to the final seven games of the season.

The only positive from the game at Wembley was the performance of Eberechi Eze, who looked sharp and silky whenever he was on the ball.

The young English midfielder has been searching for an opportunity to remind everyone why he was knocking on the England door last season, and took the big stage at Wembley to show he was as talented and driven as anyone in the league.

After his brilliant display at Wembley, his manager Patrick Vieira revealed he’s always been an admirer of the entertaining midfielder but had to be careful with his game time due to the severity of the injury he suffered last season.

The Crystal Palace boss said: “I will tell you I was 100% a long time ago but it’s always some steps.

“Because after a long injury like that, what we don’t want is a step back. We’ve been really careful with the medical staff, looking at his workload.

“Sometimes we have to make a decision for the players, he will start some of them and he will come off the bench from others.

“What is important for him is to keep training on a regular basis to build his fitness and see what happens at the end of the season.”

Luka Milivojević and Nathan Ferguson out but Conor Gallagher returns

Palace have now lost their last two games in all competitions having gone seven without a defeat prior to the loss at Leicester.

But at Newcastle Vieira will be able to call on Conor Gallagher, who admitted it was quite painful to watch from the stands as Palace took on Chelsea at Wembley.

The Chelsea loanee has been one of the shining lights of the season, and his return will energise the midfield and give Vieira options at Newcastle who have gone from relegation battlers to aiming to finish in the top 10.

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira also revealed in his team news that Nathan Ferguson, who has been unlucky with injuries throughout his time with the Eagles, and Luka Milivojevic are not in the squad.