Sticky situation: Jean-Philippe Mateta
Jean-Philippe Mateta will play no part in this weekend’s M23 Derby as Crystal Palace continue to assess his injury.
The Frenchman came close to joining AC Milan on Deadline Day, but the Serie A side pulled out after medical tests revealed a knee problem which would require surgery.
Standard Sport has reported that he has been playing through the injury by choice for some time, and after failing to secure a January transfer, Crystal Palace are looking to settle on a treatment plan.
Glasner said of Mateta: “He won’t play on Sunday at Brighton, and he won’t play against Burnley. We want now a final decision how to manage his knee, what we have to do, what we should do.
“As everybody can imagine, it’s a tricky situation for everyone – for him, for everyone at the club – but at the end, if the decision will be taken that we manage his knee until the end of the season, he will be back in the squad.
“If he doesn’t undergo surgery and the knee is okay, he will start training with us and he will get integrated, and then he has to fight for his position like everyone else, but this is what he knows and he’s fine with it.”
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Palace pushed ahead with plans to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves despite Mateta’s exit falling through, and the Norwegian could debut against the Seagulls.
Glasner said he hoped the striker can help Palace snap their 12-match winless run: “We’re always looking at the profiles and the character of the player, and Jørgen shows both – that’s why we had a huge effort to get him into the building.
“He's shown it this week in training. He’s hungry to score goals, and of course he needs to get the ball in the right areas, but he has this feeling where to move in the box – he’s scored a few nice goals.
“We’ve Evann Guessand in, first week of training with us, Brennan [Johnson] has had a few weeks – so it’s now pressing the reset button with recent results.”
There are plenty of other returnees to assist in that end, too, with Adam Wharton, Borna Sosa, and Daichi Kamada all back in the fold against Brighton.
The Eagles have been without Kamada since early December, when he came off with a hamstring injury during a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City. Sosa, meanwhile, has recovered from a minor muscle injury, and Wharton has served a suspension for being sent off against Chelsea.