Ex-Gunner’s injury cause not as reported

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Eddie Nketiah did not suffer a hamstring injury during a session with a personal trainer, ending speculation around the cause of the recent setback for the former Arsenal striker.

A Daily Mail report emerged on Thursday claiming that Palace were investigating the circumstances behind the muscular strain sustained by their £30m summer signing, as they suspected the injury might have occurred away from the club, but it seems that isn’t true.

Addressing these inflated concerns, Glasner stated that Nketiah informed him that he did not suffer any injury during a private session, and Glasner expressed his full trust in the player’s account. “He told me he didn’t have one, so for me he didn’t have one,” Glasner said.

“If I ask the player — and the player answers me — I always trust him if I don’t know it 100 per cent because there are so many rumours around.”

The manager revealed that Palace players were given two days off, on Sunday and Monday, and it was only on Tuesday that the rumours about Nketiah’s possible private session surfaced.

When asked whether Nketiah uses a personal trainer, Glasner acknowledged that most of his squad have their own coaches or physiotherapists.

He noted, “In these times, most of our players have their own coaches, physiotherapists. On the one side, we like professional players who care about their bodies. But this is a challenge every single club has now, trying to find the best communication.”

So how did the injury happen?

Well, that’s something the Daily Mail leave out when following up their own report on Crystal Palace’s ‘investigation’ in an article headlined “Glasner happy with Nketiah’s explanation for mystery injury“.

“Blame me,” Glasner said. “It’s my mistake. I didn’t substitute him earlier. My fault. I should have subbed him a little bit earlier.

“He felt something in the game but was fighting for the team almost until the end of the game. He mentioned it after the game that he felt his hamstring. We gave him a scan and saw it was more serious than we expected.”

Nketiah, who joined Palace from Arsenal in a £30m deal in the summer, now faces time on the sidelines as he recovers from the issue.

Since moving to Palace, Nketiah has played nine matches, starting eight of them. This represents a significant increase in his playing time compared to his last season at Arsenal, where he spent most of his time on the bench, managing just 28 minutes across the final 12 league fixtures and failing to make the pitch for Arsenal’s final six games.

The increased workload at Palace could be a contributing factor to Nketiah’s hamstring injury. Unlike at Arsenal, where he experienced only one notable injury—a 42-day ankle problem in the 2022/23 season—Nketiah is now adjusting to the demands of more consistent top-flight action.

About his form since arriving, Glasner is certain Nketiah’s first goal isn’t far away. “Yes, it’s a challenge for him to find the right position,” Glasner said. “He moves a little bit too wide. We want him more connected, 10-15 yards more in the middle.

“Then he will get into more dangerous situations and will automatically score more goals because he has a great finish.”