Crystal Palace were today assessing Wilfried Zaha, with fears growing he may face another spell on the sidelines with injury.

The forward was forced to return early from international duty with Ivory Coast after sustaining a thigh problem, similar to the one which ruled him out of Palace’s home defeat by Southampton last month.

Zaha’s involvement in Palace’s match at Everton on Sunday may now be in doubt, with Palace desperately hoping that the 25-year-old will not be out of action for a significant period given their record without him.

Palace have not prevailed in a match minus Zaha since they won 3-2 at Sunderland in September 2016.

Zaha has a good record of returning quickly to first-team action after injury problems but Palace must also be careful not to rush him back ahead of schedule.

Questioned about their poor record without Zaha, Palace manager Roy Hodgson said: “I don’t know what I can do until we play without Wilf and win.”