Zaha’s injury is not as bad as first feared but will still cause him to miss at least five league matches

Crystal Palace’s survival hopes have received a boost after it was revealed that Wilfried Zaha’s knee injury will not end his season and he could return at the end of next month.

The attacking player had a scan on Tuesday which revealed that he has sprained ligaments in his knee and the expectation is that he should be able to play in six weeks’ time, several weeks earlier than initially feared.

It would mean him missing five Premier League games and could be in contention to play against Liverpool at the end of March and the following six remaining games of the season, which include meetings with four teams who are presently in danger of relegation.

Zaha suffered the problem during the 1-1 draw with