Ismaila Sarr injury update after Crystal Palace star forced off against Manchester United | OneFootball

The winger may not play again for the Eagles in 2025

Oliver Glasner has said Ismaila Sarr may not play again before leaving for the Africa Cup on Nations after suffering an ankle injury during Crystal Palace’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Sarr was withdrawn in the 38th minute following a heavy challenge from Diogo Dalot and was replaced by Eddie Nketiah.

“We all have to assess him further but the ankle is quite swollen, so I think he will miss a few games,” Glasner said.

“Maybe we won’t see him again before the Afcon."

Palace lost their pace in transition after Sarr’s withdrawal and United surged back to complete an impressive second-half comeback.

The Eagles had no response to United as they tired in the second half, with Glasner’s substitutions struggling to make an impact.

Nketiah spurned a glorious opportunity, delaying his shot from inside the area, allowing Luke Shaw to recover with an excellent sliding tackle.

And Glasner bemoaned his squad's lack of depth.

“[It’s] the issue and I never talked about it, to be honest, but today it feels like it's time because I want to protect the players,” Glasn said.

“Yes, the energy level was not that high at the end, they looked a little bit fatigued, and I want to protect them because I know how hard they are working every single day and giving everything.

“It was our 22nd game and it was [United’s] 14th game [of the season]. I could see that they were physically better. We got mentally a little bit fatigued, and that's what we are definitely facing.

“And again, I think it's also now time to mention it, that's clearly our fault. We missed [the chance] to strengthen the depth of the squad in summer and we knew the schedule, we knew that Ismaila would go to the AFCON. Nothing happened, surprisingly.

“When you play European football for the first time in your history, let's invest instead of save. We saved and that's what we are facing.

“But these players, this group of players, giving everything, so no blame for the players because they are leaving their heart on the pitch.”