Manager Roy Hodgson, whose side are still not clear of the threat of relegation as they sit five points off the bottom three, said: "With these strains, it is important to take care, especially hamstrings.

"I understand the Ivory Coast feel they need to check the veracity of the situation, so I was always aware he would have to go over there but I was disappointed he wasn't able to come back a bit earlier for treatment here.

"You have to be so careful with hamstring injuries. It's so difficult to know whether someone is 100 per cent fit. So I think everyone understands the caution we wanted to show going into this important stage of the season.

"We are grateful to Aidy Boothroyd and the England Under-21s for not pushing Aaron Wan-Bissaka to play and giving him the chance to recover.

"I can only hope Wilf, being as resilient as he is, can deal with the fact he's had to have a journey back and forward to the Ivory Coast.

"Hopefully, the couple of days he has had back with us should stand him in good stead for Saturday."

Full-back Wan-Bissaka is expected to shake off his hamstring problem in time.

A win for Palace could relegate Huddersfield and would also significantly ease their own fears of the drop as they would move to 36 points, eight clear of third-bottom Cardiff who travel to Chelsea on Sunday.

But Hodgson added: "I would want more than three points from our remaining eight matches. That would not satisfy me.

"I still think people, if they are really making certain that relegation is not a huge spectre, should be targeting 40 points.

"With our next win, whenever it comes, we will be a bit closer to that."

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