Crystal Palace star James McArthur ruled out of clash v Everton
Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur has been ruled out of the side that will host Everton at Selhurst Park on Sunday (12 December).
McArthur, 34, has captained Patrick Vieira’s men this season with usual skipper Luka Milivojevic out of favour.
He was a mainstay of the side that made a great start to life under Vieira, starting every one of their first 11 Premier League games, with the Eagles going unbeaten in his last six.
However, he was substituted in the 2-0 win over Wolves last month (6 November) and has not been seen since, with Palace drawing one and losing three of their four games without him.
In quotes shared by PA Sport journalist George Sessions on his personal Twitter profile, the Scotland midfielder is back training but has been ruled out of Sunday’s clash.
Vieira said: “He is feeling better as well. He started doing some individual training on the field and this morning he take part in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the training session but he will not be involved for the Everton game.”
Midfield woe for Palace
McArthur, Conor Gallagher and Cheikh Kouyate struck up an impressive trio at the start of the season, with all three offering different characteristics in the middle of midfield.
Gallagher provides the energy and goals in midfield while McArthur snaps into challenges, leaving Kouyate to clean up behind them.
However, without McArthur, the Palace side has lacked balance and leadership.
Jeffrey Schlupp has started their last two matches and looks to be the favourite to start at Selhurst on Sunday.
Milivojevic could also start to provide more solidity.
However, at home, could Vieira add a sprinkling of stardust in midfield and start Eberechi Eze? It’s unlikely given he has only recently returned from a serious injury, but it would be a big boost to have him back in there pulling the strings.
Will Hughes and Jairo Riedewald are other options to start for Palace against Everton.
In other Everton news, the Blues are ready to trigger the release clause of this ‘Incredible’ 25-year-old La Liga star in January.
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