Crystal Palace handed Scary Injury Crisis ahead of Manchester United Premier League clash
Crystal Palace have decided the extend the contracts of midfielder Will Hughes and defender Joel Ward by a season according to a report by South London Press. The duo have been pivotal for new manager Oliver Glasner since he took over the club.
Hughes has started every game under the new manager and has become undroppable alongside highly-rated youngster Adam Wharton in midfield. For a player whose contract was supposed to come to an end in the summer, Hughes has played in 31 matches across all competitions and an extension was the natural reward for such hard work in the face of uncertainty.
The 29-year-old joined Palace from Watford in 2021 and has steadily worked his way up. For Ward, he’s been at the club since 2012 and was on his way out before the club decided he deserved at least another year.
The news of the new contract extensions for the duo is a massive boost to the squad who are preparing for the Premier League game against Manchester United on Monday night.
The Eagles are one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League at the moment, going four games without a defeat including winning three of them and narrowly being held to a draw by Fulham the other weekend.
They have also wasted little time in taking to the brand of football former Wolfsburg manager Oliver Glasner has introduced since he took over from Roy Hodgson in February with exciting players like Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze back to their brilliant best.
United will arrive at Selhurst looking for a win that boosts their chances of securing Europa League football after being held to a draw by relegation-threatened Burnley.
Whether we like Rashy or not. A team without him and Bruno in it is a team that lacks any real chance creation. Palace are a pretty good team defensively and I struggle to see this United side creating a massive amount of chances here.
It’s a huge blow. It also means that as we edge closer to the FA Cup final, Rashford is running out of time to be fully fit for that massive match. You just know if he was at 100% he’d come up with at least one big moment – just as he did in the most recent meeting with our noisy neighbours.
In terms of options, it’s looking like Alejandro Garnacho will start on the left-hand side, leaving Antony and Amad to battle it out for the start over on the right.
