Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has delivered a positive update on the fitness of midfielder Adam Wharton ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
The 21-year-old missed last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur after sustaining a twisted ankle in the previous match against Nottingham Forest 11 days ago.
Glasner revealed prior to the win at Spurs that “if everything goes right, [Wharton will] be re-integrated in full training next week” before beginning full FA Cup preparations on Wednesday.
The Austrian has since confirmed that Wharton has taken part in training throughout this week and he is available for selection against Man City.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference at the club’s training ground on Friday, Glasner said: “It’s positive team news. Everyone is fit.
“Adam [Wharton] trained the whole week and is available, and all the others are fit. There are some tough decisions to take – but good decisions to take.”
© Imago
Palace receive Wharton boost as Glasner discusses FA Cup final preparations
Glasner has also reiterated how he and his players have not drastically changed their training schedule ahead of competing in their third-ever FA Cup final, but they have had to adjust to the increased pre-match media commitments.
“It feels like a normal game,” he added. “There’s much more attention and interviews to do during the week, but our preparations have been more or less the same as for a Premier League game, like they were for the semi-final and quarter-final game.
“We focused on what we want to do tomorrow, we analysed Manchester City, but 90% we talked about us.
“We can influence what we want to do. The focus was on our game, and maybe having one or two small adjustments, because the players did very well in the last couple of weeks. We have a lot of confidence and are looking forward to the final.”
© Imago
Crystal Palace bidding to win first-ever major trophy
Crystal Palace have never won a major trophy in their 120-year existence as a professional club and when asked what it would mean to him to end their long wait for silverware, Glasner said: “You can ask me after the game – I don’t talk about this because we haven’t won anything.
“We have a great game in front of us, but IF this happens, IF this happens, IF this happens. So WHEN it happens we can talk about it.
“We have a great game, we feel well-prepared for this game. We will give our best, every single one, as long as he’s playing or even if he’s not playing and supporting the team. This is what we can do. This is the only thing we can do and then let’s see.
“This is the same approach as before the semi-finals and the quarter-finals… we had the same approach.
“Show who we are, show how we want to play and try to win the game. this will be the same tomorrow. We will try to win the game as Crystal Palace, what made us successful and let’s see, because then it is football.”
Crystal Palace beat Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Fulham and Aston Villa to get to their third FA Cup final, including a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the latter in the semi-finals three weeks ago.
No Data Analysis info
