Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Eagles’ manager said of goalscorer Odsonne Edouard, who departed the field of play after 74 minutes of Palace’s 5-1 win at Leeds United: “He wasn’t injured when he came off; it was just a substitution. We thought it was the right time to get some fresh legs onto the field and give someone else a taste of first-team football.”
Hodgson then added: “The player we have lost this week is Nathaniel Clyne. He’s felt his knee, so unfortunately we won’t have the benefits of Nathaniel for this game. We don’t believe it’s a long-term injury, but when the knee flares up a little bit, it’s kept him out of training for the last three days so he can't play tomorrow.
“Chris Richards has now come back from his injury – so it’s a straight swap.”
Also absent from the win at Elland Road were goalkeeper Vicente Guaita and winger Wilfried Zaha, with Hodgson believing Palace will need to manage the duo’s eventual return.
The manager said: “It’s dangerous to say, but both are making very good progress.
“Certainly both of them will be targeting games at the end of this month. That's their target, but we have to be careful. They will have to be cleared by the medical people and they realise that.
"If it were purely up to them, they will be chomping at the bit to play at the end of April.”
Speaking in the embargoed section of the press conference, Hodgson later added: "Both are out on the field.
"Wilf was on the field today for the first or second time, working reasonably gently with the physio. Vicente Guaita was out on the field today doing some light ball handling work with the goalkeeping coach, so that’s how they’ve progressed, but they’re both suffering from strains.
"The MRI showed they were strains and we know the severity of the strain, and we also know the danger: if they get pushed back too quickly before the strain has cleared up, it could be a problem for us, so I’ve got to rely on the medical department. I know they’re doing their level best to get the players back.
"If it were up to those two, they’d be back in training on Monday, but they’re wise enough to know they have to follow the advice so that when they come back they’re going to be one hundred percent fit – not come back for a couple of days and find themselves out for a longer period of time.
"The doctor said, when they got the first scan results, that they’d be hoping for the end of April for some sort of return, and I haven’t seen any reason to doubt that at the moment."