As if Crystal Palace weren’t going through a tough enough time already, their quest for a first Premier League goal looks as though it could be prolonged. Christian Benteke, the club’s record signing, limped off the pitch during Saturday’s 5-0 loss to Manchester City, and the Eagles have confirmed that he could miss around six weeks with a knee injury.

Christian Benteke Injured

Palace were already 3-0 down, and surely on their way to a sixth consecutive defeat, when Benteke limped off. After the match, manager Roy Hodgson confirmed he would miss the club’s trip to Old Trafford on Saturday. It wasn’t until Monday, when he visited a specialist, that Hodgson and the club could confirm what fans had been dreading. With minor ligament damage in his knee, the Belgian likely won’t return until November. He’ll miss matches against Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham and the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Bristol City.

Palace are now without a legitimate striker. Connor Wickham is still struggling with an injury while Frazier Campbell was allowed to leave the club to return to Hull City over the summer. The failed attempt to bring in another forward over the summer is looking like even more of a mistake.

Hodgson and his staff are now tasked with deciding who will play in a makeshift striker role for the time being. In the 1-0 victory over Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup last Tuesday, Bakary Sako played as the lone striker. Returning from injury himself, Sako scored the only goal of the match, and it was he who replaced the injured Benteke on Saturday. Other options could be Freddie Ladapo, signed in 2016 from Margate and yet to make his senior debut for Palace, or Wilfried Zaha, who is set to make his return in early October.

With little time to sort the problem out before taking on Manchester United on Saturday, Palace will have little hope of getting either their first goal or their first points of the season.

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