Crystal Palace given key injury boost ahead of Sheffield United clash but trio ruled out

Michael Olise will be fit enough to feature for Crystal Palace against Sheffield United on Tuesday night, Roy Hodgson has confirmed. Olise has missed Palace's last three games after picking up a muscular injury in December, but he'll make his playing return for the Eagles this week, it seems.

Palace will be without just three players for the visit of the Blades with Cheick Doucoure, Rob Holding and Joel Ward ruled out, and as they look to end a run of form which has seen them win just one of their last 10 Premier League games, that can be considered a huge boost. As such, Roy Hodgson's side will be confident of picking up the points they need to move clear of the relegation zone after slipping into the bottom six of late.

“He’s available – he has trained now,” Hodgson revealed in his pre-match press conference prior to the clash at Selhurst Park. “Obviously, we have to be careful and the sports science people are urging caution, so we’ll see.

“He himself feels he’s fine, so I don’t have any concerns myself, but we will have to keep an eye on it because it is quite a long time since he played his last game.”

He added: “The only players we can’t call upon are the two who had operations, which are Cheick Doucoure and Rob Holding. Joel Ward is still not back to full fitness, but he is actually quite close now so it won’t be long before we get him back as well. It is pretty good at this stage of the season to only have those three players missing.”

Asked if Tuesday's fixture was a must-win, Hodgson said: "You never know the answer to that. The must-win games question I have never known the answer to - most games you go into, you desperately want to win them. Saying it is a must-win game doesn't win it for you."