Jean-Philippe Mateta will play no part in Crystal Palace’s FA Cup game against Macclesfield (Photo: Getty)
Oliver Glasner has revealed that Jean-Philippe Mateta will miss Crystal Palace’s FA Cup third-round match against Macclesfield.
The France striker has been dealing with a knee issue for the past month and will not travel to the non-league side on Saturday as Palace begin their defence of the FA Cup.
Mateta has appeared in all but one of Palace’s 33 matches across all competitions so far this season, recording 10 goals and two assists.
Only four players – Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Antoine Semenyo and Dominic Calvert-Lewin – have scored more in the Premier League this campaign, form that has once again attracted transfer interest from Manchester United.
Mateta has been dealing with a minor knee issue for the past month and Glasner has decided to rest his talisman this weekend and not risk him on Macclesfield’s astroturf pitch.
‘No one is coming back [from injury],’ the Austrian manager said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
‘Chris [Richards] is back, but he was in the squad against Aston Villa.
Prefer us to the others? Then tell Google!
As a loyal Metro reader, we want to make sure you never miss our stories when searching for your news. Whether it is the latest politics news explained, live football coverage or a showbiz scoop.
Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
Our journalists work hard to deliver the most important stories from around the world
Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 10 goals so far this season (Photo: Getty)
‘JP will not travel with us. We’ll give him a rest, not playing on astro. We’ve talked about some issues with his knee.
‘Everything’s under control but we don’t want to risk that he plays on astro and it gets worse, that’s why he stays in London. All others [from the Villa game] are fine.
Asked if this issue could prevent Mateta from playing in Palace’s next Premier League game against Sunderland on January 17, Glasner replied: ‘No, I don’t think so.’
Mateta helped Palace win the FA Cup in 2025 (Photo: Getty)
The 28-year-old played a key role in the South London club’s historic victory over Manchester City in last year’s FA Cup final, as Palace lifted the first major trophy in their history.
With Eddie Nketiah also sidelined, Palace will take on Macclesfield, who play in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, without a first-team striker.
Glasner also confirmed that captain Marc Guehi will start at Moss Rose and said there was no update to give on the future of the centre-back.
The England international has entered the last six months of his contract, with Man City and Arsenal stepping up their interest in the defender in the last few days.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comment now
Comments
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
