Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson admits he has hopes of Connor Wickham making it back to the first team.

Wickham last week featured against Dulwich Hamlet while returning from a lengthy series of injuries.

The manager stated that, “If Connor can stay fit and regain his Premier League intensity, and he's working towards that all the time and getting closer and closer, of course he'll be a tremendous bonus for us because he's a player that up to now in my career at Crystal Palace I've not been able to use or rely on at all.

“Connor is there, he's trained all week. He's, for the last month, been training and not missed any sessions which is very, very positive so I'm sure if you asked him, he'd say 'yes, I am ready to play and I should be starting.'"