‘Responded really well’ - Crystal Palace boss hails individual after Brighton draw and provides injury update

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Viera has heaped praise on defender James Tomkins after his goal against Brighton and Hove Albion. He stepped in for the injured Chris Richards and scored for the Eagles in their 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.

The Seagulls opened the scoring just after the hour mark through winger Solly March. However, they were pegged back shortly after following a mistake by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Tomkins, 33, has had to bide his time for first-team minutes at Crystal Palace this season. He has made just four league appearances to date but was solid when called upon this weekend.

Viera was impressed and told the club website: “We’re really pleased [with Tomkins] because when you don’t play really often, it’s difficult to find this kind of momentum.

“After Chris Richards’ back injury, he responded really well. He’s shown a lot of positives in the last couple of months, and today he was rewarded with the goal he scored. I’m happy for him.”

The manager has also provided a brief injury update regarding Richards, who had to drop out of the line-up: “We don’t know [how long he will be absent for] yet. He had his injury this morning, and we have to wait and see how long he will be.”

The Eagles are back in action next Saturday with a tricky away trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to play Brentford. Thomas Frank’s side haven’t lost in their last 10 league outings.

In other news, James McArthur returned to the bench for Crystal Palace. The midfielder has been out of action over recent times.