Crystal Palace's Evann Guessand: Targeting Shakhtar return leg

Guessand (knee) will not be available for Sunday's clash against Bournemouth but is pushing hard to feature in Thursday's UEFA Conference League second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, according to coach Oliver Glasner. "Evann won't be available for Bournemouth definitely, but we hope maybe for the second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk and then, of course, until the end of the season. He's very motivated, working hard in rehab, and we know what injury he has, it's a very aggressive way that he can play a few games for us, but he wants this as well, so we want it, he wants it."

Analysis:

Guessand has been working through an aggressive rehabilitation program with no adverse reaction in his knee, putting the European second leg in realistic reach for the French forward. Any involvement against Shakhtar would likely be limited to a few minutes off the bench given the length of his absence, but getting him back on the pitch before the season ends is clearly a shared goal between player and club. Crystal Palace will assess his progress through the week before making a final call on his involvement in the European fixture.