Tyrick Mitchell suffered an Achilles injury and was forced to come off in the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool and is now a fitness doubt for the clash with Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland.
Tyrick Mitchell was a major casualty from Crystal Palace’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend after being forced off with an Achilles problem.
Oliver Glasner was forced to make a change at half-time, taking off the two-time capped Mitchell at the break after he complained of an Achilles injury.
The 26-year-old was replaced by Croatian international Borna Sosa, who slotted in well despite his long absence from the game.
Palace were attempting to win a record fourth match against Liverpool this season after already succumbing the reigning Premier League champions in the Community Shield, League Cup and in the reverse fixture in the league.
But, they found themselves 2-0 down at half-time after goals from Alexander Isak and Andy Robertson and after Mitchell had gone off, despite putting significant pressure on Liverpool, who lost Mohamed Salah to injury themselves, Palace were unable to overcome the deficit.
Tyrick Mitchell has been a hugely important player for Crystal Palace this season.Daniel Munoz did score his eighth Premier League goal of the season to at least put some pressure on the Reds but Palace were finished off in the dying embers of stoppage time when German Florian Wirtz scored.
But the loss was not the only casualty, with Glasner confirming that Mitchell had suffered a Achilles injury.
He said: “He felt his achilles. It’s not just today, it’s an ongoing issue he has.
“Our medical department is treating it very well. Today he said that he couldn’t continue.
Borna [Sosa] did very well – he hasn’t played for many weeks.“
Mitchell has become an extremely vital cog in the Crystal Palace team, having made his 200th Premier League appearance for the club recently.
The 26-year-old has played in all 33 Premier League matches and in 10 of the Conference League clashes this season.
His minutes across all competitions amount to 3,901, the equivalent of 65 hours of football.
And so perhaps it is no great surprise that Mitchell has been a casualty, with the significant number of minutes catching up with him.
With the defeat, Glasner has a decision to make on how seriously he takes the remainder of the Premier League campaign, as Crystal Palace now have a mountain to climb to reach the European places.
That leaves Glasner with the option to potentially use Mitchell now only in the Conference League, with the five Premier League matches remaining no longer of massive importance.
Palace still have fixtures in the Premier League against Bournemouth, Everton, Brentford, Manchester City and Arsenal and those are matches that Mitchell can perhaps find himself rested in.