Crystal Palace suffer major injury blow ahead of Man Utd clash

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has confirmed that star winger Wilfried Zaha will be absent from their game against Manchester United on Saturday.

The 30-year-old player who spent two years playing at Old Trafford picked up a hamstring injury in the Eagles' recent home draw with Newcastle United.

Palace have not played a competitive fixture for two weeks giving them plenty of time to prepare for their clash against the Red Devils.

Despite this, Zaha still needs more time to recover and could be out for another fortnight.

Vieira said: "His injury will take a couple of weeks so we will have to do without him. Wilfried is somebody who recovers quite quickly. We don't want to put a date on his injury."

Big boost for United

The absence of the Ivory Coast international will provide a big boost for Erik ten Hag's team as he is arguably the best player in Palace's squad.

Zaha earned a big move to United back in 2013 following impressive performances in the Championship during his first spell at Selhurst Park.

He became the last ever signing for legendary Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson but never got to play under the Scotsman and was instead a victim of United's downfall under David Moyes.

Since returning to South London he has scored 67 goals in 283 appearances in the Premier League with six of those coming this season.

This makes him Palace's top scorer for the campaign and his absence is likely to give United's defenders a much easer ride on Saturday.

Despite this, the Eagles have other threats going forward with Michael Olise and Jean Philippe Mateta both available to come in for Zaha.

A win at Old Trafford for Palace would see them move closer to the top 10, but with United's impressive home form this season, it will be a tough ask for Vieira's men.