Hodgson revealed that the injured players who missed the end of last season - James Tomkins, Mamadou Sakho and Jeffrey Schlupp - are still not back to full fitness and therefore will miss the Selhurst Park curtain-raiser.
However, the manager did go on to say that: "Of course we do have a bigger squad on this ocassion [to deal with the injuries] because of the players we signed."
Hodgson also confirmed that the three players who played in this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations - Cheikhou Kouyaté, Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew – will all be under consideration to make the matchday squad against Everton.
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