Team News: Updates on Hughes, Guessand & Sosa ahead of Shakhtar
Will Hughes is set to return to the Crystal Palace matchday squad for the second leg of the Eagles’ UEFA Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday evening (20:00 BST kick-off).
Palace will, however, be without Evann Guessand and Borna Sosa, as the duo continue their rehabilitation from injury.
Oliver Glasner had previously hinted of his hopes that Guessand would return for Thursday night’s decisive second leg – with a place in the Final in Leipzig on the line.
But the Manager noted in his pre-match press conference: “The good news is that Will Hughes is back [from the illness which ruled him out against Bournemouth].
“Evann trained today, but just partly. It’s too early, so he doesn’t make the squad tomorrow. We have to decide on a daily basis.
“Borna Sosa is still out – he wasn’t available for Bournemouth and is also still out – and of course Eddie Nketiah and Cheick Doucouré [are unavailable].
“All other players are fit and available.”
With Guessand having been absent since the quarter-final first leg against Fiorentina, Glasner added with regards to the Ivorian’s injury: “It’s now the last part of his rehab: getting integrated into team training.
“We don’t have lots of training [between matches]. That's why we really use every session we have. It's different if you train individually, but he's still doing it with the rehab coach individually.
"When you're part of team training, this is what he needs now, but like always, a player’s welfare is most important.”
Palace lead 3-1 at the halfway point of the tie, but Glasner added: “I think nobody believes [the tie is done].
“We could see how good Shakhtar are as a team, and also their players, quick players, good dribblers, and we will need another great performance.
“But of course we play the game tomorrow with a lot of confidence at Selhurst. We know we will have fantastic support from our fans. We could feel it against Fiorentina at home, and I think and believe it will be a bit more electric tomorrow, and that’s what we need.
“Then, it’s playing our game and giving our best. We know what we need to do, we don’t need to change a lot. We don’t need to find something that we didn’t find right now, it’s just really playing at our best level – and this is what we will try tomorrow.”
Match Details
Crystal Palace v Shakhtar Donetsk
- Thursday, 7th May
- 20:00 BST
- UEFA Conference League semi-final, second leg
- Selhurst Park
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+