‘At This Hour’ – Crystal Palace Star Going Under Knife Now, ‘In Principle’ Return Date Clear | OneFootball

Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Crystal Palace star Daniel Munoz is undergoing surgery in London ‘at this hour’ to fix a long-standing issue.

Munoz has developed into a key cog in the Crystal Palace machine since his £6.6m transfer from Belgian side Genk to the English capital.

His performances helped Crystal Palace win the first major trophy in their history, and in the process the right-back garnered interest from, and turned down, Serie A giants Inter Milan.

The Colombian has also established himself in the national side, becoming one of the first names on the team-sheet since his debut in 2021.

Munoz helped Colombia to the final of the 2024 Copa America, their first since 2001 when they were champions, eventually losing to Argentina.

The tournament was marred with pitch quality issues, as numerous players and managers pointed out the risk of injury due to the nature of the grass, with Munoz too picking up an injury during the tournament.

Munoz and Crystal Palace have elected for him to undergo surgery now, so as to avoid the risk of the defender’s World Cup next summer being affected, according to Colombian journalist Julian Capera.

The procedure is happening ‘at this hour’ in London.

It is hoped that the surgery will rectify the discomfort Munoz has felt since the Copa America, with the right-back undergoing an arthroscopy to clean out a fragment that has been the source of the discomfit.

‘In principle’ Munoz is also expected to take around six weeks to recover, while the right-back already missed the weekend win over Fulham.

Crystal Palace face Shelbourne in the Conference League later this evening, a game for which they will be without Jean-Philippe Mateta too.

Oliver Glasner will want Munoz back as soon as possible, with Palace set to play three more games in December and five in January in the Premier League.

With Nathaniel Clyne likely to benefit from Munoz’s absence, Crystal Palace will be hoping they can continue to make progress and there are no hiccups in Munoz’s return.