Injury to Sidy Riyad Will Keep Him Out for the Rest of the Season
Crystal Palace is considering entering the transfer market this month to acquire a central defender after Sidy Riyad sustained a serious knee injury during training.
According to The Athletic network, the Moroccan international is expected to miss the rest of this season and the start of next season due to the injury.
This is another blow for Riyad, who has only played 3 matches for the first team since signing for a fee of about £15 million from Barcelona last summer, after spending last season on loan at Real Betis in La Liga.
Riyad suffered a lateral ligament injury just 10 minutes into Palace’s 4-0 victory over Norwich City in the second round of the Carabao Cup in August, before returning to play with the Under-21 team in December.
This allowed the 21-year-old player to complete 90 minutes in Palace’s 1-0 win over Stockport County in the third round of the FA Cup in January.
Riyad told the Crystal Palace website after playing 90 minutes with the Under-21 team in the 1-0 win over Fulham last month: “It was tough; it’s my first injury in a long time. It was definitely a time to learn, work on myself, identify my weaknesses, improve them, and come back stronger than ever, and show that on the pitch. Every player wants to return as soon as possible, to help in any way.”
However, he is now likely to remain sidelined until next season after another knee injury, leaving Palace lacking cover in the center-back position.
It’s incredibly unfortunate for Riyad, whom Palace had hoped would step in and contribute at times this season. His initial injury led to the signing of Trevoh Chalobah on loan from Chelsea in the summer.
With Chalobah now recalled by his parent club and Riyad injured again, manager Oliver Glasner now has only 3 central defenders, where the club had previously felt there was sufficient cover in that position.
Midfielder Jefferson Lerma is capable of playing in this role and Glasner had previously suggested that he could return to defense if necessary, while Nathaniel Clyne covered this position sufficiently last season.
But these options are far from ideal, especially with the absence of Cheick Doucouré and Adam Wharton in midfield due to injury; Lerma is needed in his primary role instead.
As a result, Palace is expected to look for a central defender as well as a left-back to provide competition for Tyrick Mitchell in the final week of the transfer window.
