Cheick Doucoure Injury: Suffers setback, out several months

Doucoure (knee) suffered a setback in his rehab process and will be sidelined for multiple months, manager Oliver Glasner told media in Friday's pre-match press conference before facing Liverpool in the Community Shield on Sunday. "Cheick had a setback [and] we don't know when he will return. He's still not able to train, his knee's reacting. He gets all our support, [but] he won't be back for the next couple of months."

This is a devastating development for the central midfielder, who was ruled out for the rest of the 2024/25 season in late January after undergoing surgery for an ACL tear on his knee. It's unclear when he'll return to the side, but Glasner specified this new setback will keep the veteran midfielder on the sidelines for multiple months. This means Palace will probably rely on Jefferson Lerma, Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton to handle the central midfield roles for the foreseeable future.