Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has given an update on captain Dean Henderson after he surprisingly missed the Premier League match against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
The England goalkeeper had started all three of Palace’s opening league games before being rested for the Carabao Cup win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
It was expected that he would return to the starting XI for the clash at Selhurst Park against the Tractor Boys, but his name was missing from the matchday squad.
Instead, Walter Benitez starts in between the sticks, with third choice keeper Remi Matthews on the bench.
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It is one of three changes for the Eagles from their 3-2 win over Fulham last week, with Jorgen Strand Larsen coming in for the injured Eddie Nketiah, while future Chelsea defender Honest Anahor replaces Jaydee Canvot.
Sage made no mention of Henderson when giving his team news a few days ago, only saying that forwards Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta were still sidelined with injury.
A statement on the Palace website explained why the 29-year-old was absent: ‘Skipper Dean Henderson misses out as he continues to manage a foot issue.’
Crystal Palace vs Ipswich starting XIs
Palace XI: Benítez, Ahanor, Richards, Disasi, Khalaili, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell, Pino, Kamada, Strand Larsen
Subs: Matthews, Chilwell, Mingueza, Tomiyasu, Lerma, Hughes, Doucouré, McNeil, Gozo
Ipswich XI: Scherpen, O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis, Palacios, Lukic, Fatawu, Enciso, Clarke, Emersonn
Subs: Walton, Kipre, Ouattara, Florentino, Nunez, Philogene, Maeda, Akpom, Flemming
Speaking ahead of kick-off, Sage revealed the extent of the injury and how long the former Manchester United keeper was likely to be sidelined for.
‘Eddie Nketiah is not ready, we tried yesterday but the tests were not good,’ the Frenchman said.
‘For Canvot it is a sporting decision, my decision.
‘And for the keeper Dean Henderson, he played injured from the beginning of the season because he got an injury against Freiburg [in pre-season] and now it’s too much for him.
‘He is not available to play. He needs some recovery and he will be back maybe during the international break.’
Palace have two more games before the international break: Lech Poznan in their Europa League debut and Leeds United in the Premier League.
After the break, their first match will be against Nottingham Forest, now managed by former Eagles hero Oliver Glasner.
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