Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira is delighted counting on fit-again Eberichi Eze.

The midfielder is back after snapping his achilles tendon in post-season training.

"I think he is one of the fans' favourites and he has been doing really good," said Vieira.

"But we need to understand that when a player stays like seven months outside of competition, it will take time for him to get to his best.

"He is working well, he is working hard and every week he is making progress, so this is good. But we should not expect very much from him for the first couple of months.

"It was good to have him on the pitch. At the same time we know he has a long way to go but he has made a step forward and for him to be involved in the Premier League it's good."