Roy Hodgson feels adamant about the return of Mamadou Sakho in the Eagles' vital match against Tottenham Hotspur.

Sakho was expected to replace Martin Kelly yesterday in the Eagles' 3-1 defeat against Everton but the Frenchman was absent.

But the Crystal Palace boss revealed why and added that he believes Sakho will be fit enough in time to face Spurs.

"No, I don't think so," he said when asked if Sakho's injury was a bad one.

"He had a calf injury which he recovered from and was able to play [against Newcastle], and he trained through to Thursday, getting through the training sessions until then.

"But after that one, he flagged up to the medical staff that he had felt something with his calf and that might not necessarily mean he would be able to play.

"We had to accept that and we were disappointed, but he has had an MRI scan and there is no damage and we expect him to be back in training on Wednesday when we train again."