Remy ready for return to action

Crystal Palace will be without 10 players for their FA Cup tie at Bolton Wanderers this weekend but Loic Remy is in contention to finally make his debut.

Captain Scott Dann, goalkeepers Wayne Hennessey and Steve Mandanda and striker Christian Benteke head the injury list.

James McArthur, Jason Puncheon, Connor Wickham and Papa Souare are also ruled out, while Bakary Sako and Wilfried Zaha are away at the African Nations Cup.

“Dann, McArthur and Benteke I think will be back soon, as well as Puncheon”, said manager Sam Allardyce, speaking at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.

“I don’t know how long Hennessey will be out for,” he added.

Injury problems have meant that Remy has not featured for Palace since signing on a season-long loan from Chelsea in the summer.

However, Eagles boss  Allardyce said the Frenchman was fit again and would play some – but not all – of the game at the Macron Stadium, hinting he would be partnered up front with Fraizer Campbell.

“This is like pre-season for Loic. His general fitness is good, but his match sharpness is down,” Allardyce said.

“If he can hit the form and the heights that he’s hit in the Premier League before, he can lift our team and add a threat.”

Allardyce confirmed Julian Speroni will start in the absence of Mandanda, who has been out since November with a knee injury, and Hennessey, who picked up a knock in training on Friday so is unavailable for the trip north.