While there’s been nothing official put out from Crystal Palace, there were some positive noises about Jean–Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) on Monday.
The Palace striker has been sidelined since the FA Cup fifth-round tie with Millwall earlier this month.
Mateta needed 25 stitches in an ear wound sustained in that game but avoided any other head injury or concussion.
The forward sounded fairly optimistic about a swift return in an interview with Sky Sports last week.
Now, that same broadcaster is reporting that Mateta has the green light to feature in Palace’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Fulham this weekend – a match that comes four days before the Gameweek 30 fixture against Southampton.
BREAKING: Jean-Philippe Mateta has been given the all-clear to play against Fulham in the FA Cup 🚨
The striker is fully fit and will play wearing a special mask to protect his ear 🔙 pic.twitter.com/NMyTavkZHV
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 24, 2025
The striker himself put out a social media post on Monday morning, hinting very strongly that he was set to return against Fulham.
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