Will Cheick Doucoure be able to play a full part for Crystal Palace this season after three lost years? | OneFootball

Cheick Doucoure is piecing together minutes, offering Crystal Palace hope he can rejoin a midfield he once anchored.

Palace’s 2022-23 player of the year arrived from Lens in July 2022 and quickly became their lynchpin. His momentum ended at Luton in November 2023 when he ruptured an Achilles. He returned on the opening day with six minutes in a 2-1 defeat at Brentford, then featured against Norwich in the Carabao Cup and Chelsea. A toe issue interrupted him, and though he started twice in January he then tore his meniscus, ending that campaign and last season.

This summer he worked to begin pre-season in good condition and has come through four warm-ups unscathed. He missed only the second game in the Como Cup double-header, when Pierre Sage picked two different XIs. At 26, he has put himself in position to push for a place.

In almost three years he has managed 14 first-team appearances, five starts and no full 90 minutes.

“There’s no reason he can’t get back to the level (of 2022-23), but he’s going to need time, a good period of training and a good block of matches,” said injury specialist Luke Anthony. He was speaking to The Athletic.

With Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada settled, Doucoure’s ball-winning and quick distribution still offer a different profile. The Europa League’s league phase adds at least eight games, so depth will matter.

He signed a deal in early 2024 to 2028-29, and a loan may be considered if minutes are scarce.

Source: NY Times

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