Wharton, who was called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad on Friday, returned to action for the final 25 minutes of Palace’s Conference League win against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night after he missed the Eagles’ previous two games with a fever.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner felt the 21-year-old began to cope with the intensity against AZ as the minutes passed but noted there was still tightness in his chest.
Glasner is unsure whether Sunday’s clash against Brighton will be too soon for Wharton to start after his bout with illness.
“I don't know,” said Glasner in his pre-Brighton press conference. “He's still feeling his chest. It's not completely free. Sometimes you need to cough it out. I hope this will happen now. Let's see.
“It was good for him to play 30 minutes. He felt a little bit rusty at the beginning, moving a little bit slow.
“That's why we wanted him to play the 30 minutes because we just have recovery in the next two days.
“Therefore, it was important for him to raise his heart frequency and get a little bit of intensity. He did better and better during the game.
“If it's enough to start against Brighton, I don't know at the moment. All others look fine.”
Maxence Lacroix has started every match for Palace this season and complained of tiredness after their first home win in the main phase of a European competition on Thursday.
Lacroix forms one part of Palace’s three-man backline, alongside Marc Guehi and Chris Richards, who have been vital to their success this season – keeping eight clean sheets in all competitions.
With Brighton on the agenda, Glasner insists there is no chance for Lacroix to grab a breather.
“No chance for resting on Sunday, sorry Maxence. He could have told me on Wednesday \[that he was tired\]. But I spoke to him, I asked him if he needed a rest and he told me he was fit.
Maxence Lacroix against AZ Alkmaar _(Image: Nathaniel Hutchinson)_
“We have Jaydee Canvot, who we fully trust in the back three, but all the players said they wanted to play European football.
“He can rest in the first week of the international break because the doors are closed, he won’t be allowed into the training ground, and then he will be fit again.”