Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has confirmed that the club are managing Ismaila Sarr’s minutes due to concerns over a hamstring injury.
Palace host their rivals Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday in a match sometimes dubbed the ‘A23 derby’ or the ‘M23 derby’.
Brighton have had more time to rest for the match with Palace playing in the Conference League this season, beating AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
Sarr scored twice in the 3-1 victory over the Dutch side but was surprisingly substituted off in the 65th minute.
Speaking after the match, Glasner said: ‘[Sarr] mentioned [on Wednesday] a very, very small tightness in his hamstring. The doctor told me.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more about your favourite team.
‘We have a game on Sunday as well, then he plays for Senegal, fortunately, here in London.
‘We have to manage the minutes. This is what we could do [against AZ Alkmaar].’
Sarr has been one of Palace’s most important players this season with four goal involvements across eight Premier League games.
The 27-year-old also scored twice in the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool and netted in the Community Shield triumph over the Reds.
Despite concerns over his full fitness, Sarr looks set to play some kind of role against Brighton, with Glasner saying it ‘looks like’ every player who was involved against AZ Alkmaar is available to face the Seagulls.
‘At the moment, it looks like all players who were involved in [the] squad [against AZ Alkmaar] will be available,’ Glasner told reporters.
Quizzed if Adam Wharton is fit to start against Brighton, Glasner added: ‘I don’t know.
‘Adam is still feeling his chest. He’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 [against AZ Alkmaar].
‘Also for me, 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, again, we will have just recovery in the next two days. Therefore, it was important for him to raise his heart frequency and get a little bit of intensity.
‘I think 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. A few knocks. Marc [Guéhi] had one at the end, but he said he’s fine.’