Roy Hodgson has defended his decision not to start Wilfried Zaha against Chelsea.

The Eagles were defeated 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and looked a considerably different side once Zaha was introduced at the half-time break.

It was Zaha's first appearance since the start of February due to a knee injury, and Hodgson insists he did the right thing by easing the Ivorian back to action.

"No because that would be being wise after the event," Hodgson said after the game.

"If I had started him and he'd broken down in the 15th or 20th minute because he's only done one-and-a-half training sessions and wasn't able to play for the rest of the season, then you'd have a very different question."