Roy Hodgson Rules Crystal Palace Defender Out of Premier League Clash With Huddersfield Town

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that defender Scott Dann will not be fit enough to take part in the side's Premier League match with Huddersfield Town next weekend, and admitted it may be a while until he returns.

Dann has not been seen in a Crystal Palace shirt since suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury during a clash with Manchester City on New Year's Day, but travelled with his teammates during their pre-season tour of Sweden, suggesting Dann may be recovering well.

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Hodgson was asked about Dann's recovery by football.london, but was quick to rule Dann out of contention for at least another month. The 71-year-old admitted: "He’s not very close. He won’t be playing in the Under-23 games in the coming week.

"Scott is making excellent progress, but it was a serious injury and he is not due to be back before the end of September, the start of October.

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"If he was to come back earlier, which is a possibility because I know the sports science people are happy, that would be a bonus.

"I would have to wait until they free him to join us, but then when he joins us, he will have been out for eight months and he will need time and won’t be going straight into any first team games.

"That's when U23 games might come in handy so he has a chance to play some football there."

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Crystal Palace currently sit in 15th place in the league following three successive defeats and they will certainly be eager to welcome Dann back into their squad. The 32-year-old was the club captain at the time of the injury and was a key player for the Eagles, but faces an extremely challenging road to recovery.