Both midfielders missed Palace’s recent defeats to Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion following bouts of illness.
But with Sambi Lokonga ineligible to face parent club Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (19th March), McCarthy was pleased to see both McArthur and Hughes train ahead of the fixture.
Speaking to Palace TV, McCarthy said: “They both trained this morning but obviously off the back of illnesses they were just getting back up and running today.
“They’ve trained this morning and hopefully we can keep getting them up to speed as quickly as possible.”
McCarthy also paid tribute to 19-year-old goalkeeper Joe Whitworth, who – in the absence of the injured Vicente Guaita and Sam Johnstone in midweek – became Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League goalkeeper at the Amex Stadium.
The teenager made impressive stops to deny Pervis Estupiñán and Alexis Mac Allister on his senior debut, and McCarthy – who has coached Whitworth at Under-18s and Under-21s level – was not surprised to see the youngster excel.
The Palace coach said: “I thought he was excellent in the game, not surprisingly. He’s such a great kid with bags of confidence and bags of quality as well.
“He’s an England [youth] international, he’s played in big games throughout the course of his young career, and there are none bigger than Palace against Brighton away from home.
“He showed everybody what he’s capable of, so we were delighted with his performance and delighted that he’s another Academy product playing in our first-team.”
Click here to watch Paddy McCarthy's full interview with Palace TV.