Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has provided the latest update on the fitness of his squad ahead of their opening Premier League fixture of the 2025-26 season against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Eagles are feeling mixed emotions after being officially demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League playoffs, less than 24 hours after they beat Liverpool to win the Community Shield last weekend.
Palace came from behind to draw 2-2 with Liverpool in 90 minutes before winning a penalty shootout 3-2 at Wembley Stadium, and they had to play a large chunk of the match without midfielder Daichi Kamada who was forced off before the half-hour mark with a knee injury.
Glasner admitted after the win over Liverpool that Kamada had emerged as a doubt for Sunday’s Premier League opener against Chelsea, and the Austrian has since confirmed that the 29-year-old will now miss the trip to Stamford Bridge.
However, Glasner is hopeful that Kamada could return in time for Palace’s Conference League playoff first leg at home to Norwegian outfit Fredrikstad FK next week.
"Daichi Kamada is out for Chelsea game," Glasner said at a press conference on Friday. "Let's see if he's available for Fredrikstad on Thursday night. It will be quite tight, but he will be definitely out for Chelsea.”
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner with Daichi Kamada on August 10, 2025
Kamada among six injured players to miss Chelsea trip
Kamada is one of six Crystal Palace players who will miss the clash against Chelsea due to injury along with Eddie Nketiah, who is still recovering from a serious hamstring injury that forced him to miss the club’s entire pre-season campaign.
Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad (both knee) remain long-term absentees, while Matheus Franca (muscle) and Caleb Kporha (back) are also unavailable for selection.
"No player is returning from injury, so not Eddie Nketiah, not Matheus Franca because they can't train with the team at the moment, not Caleb Kporha,” said Glasner. “Of course, Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad are out for the next couple of months.
“The group of players we have available is not the biggest one (in terms of numbers) but we showed at Wembley - where we had to substitute Daichi Kamada after 20 minutes - that the next one comes in and the team is able to win games. This is how we will go to Stamford Bridge on Sunday."
Meanwhile, captain Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze have both been heavily linked with moves away from Selhurst Park before the summer transfer window closes on September 1, but they are both available for selection after taking part in training throughout this week.
Crystal Palace will endeavour to end a 15-game winless run in the Premier League against Chelsea (D2 L13) and are seeking to claim their first win at Stamford Bridge since April 2017 when they beat the Blues 2-1 under former boss Sam Allardyce.
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