Ward blow for Palace

Crystal Palace are set to be without Joel Ward for up to a month after the full-back picked up an injury in training.

The defender has been an ever present for Palace in the Premier League this season scoring twice, including in the fine 2-1 win at Chelsea before the international break.

However, manager Alan Pardew confirmed that Ward is set for a spell on the sidelines with an unspecified injury, while Marouane Chamakh is still absent.

“We’ve lost Ward in training to an injury,” he said. “He’ll be out for three or four weeks. Chamakh is still missing too.”

The first game Ward will miss is Saturday’s contest against early pacesetters Manchester City at Selhurst Park.

In last season’s corresponding fixture Palace secured a memorable 2-1 victory.

Pardew believes his squad is even better equipped to get a result than it was when they won in April, and called on Palace to maintain the high standards they set against Chelsea.

“We’re playing off the back of a superb performance at Chelsea. Both us and Man City will be hoping to keep momentum,” he added.

“I think we’re good to watch. We’re different to City. We have more counter attacks, possibly, because they retain the ball sufficiently.

“I think we’re in a better place to get a result against City [this year], even though we did win last year. We controlled things against Chelsea.”