Speaking in his press conference ahead of the clash with Burnley on Wednesday night, head coach Oliver Glasner revealed the club’s plans for Mateta and confirmed the injury is ‘not as bad as feared’.
“He doesn’t need surgery. The injury is not as bad as feared. The opinion from several doctors and specialists is that we can deal with the knee in a better way than surgery,” he said. “He will miss certain times, so I can’t say two weeks, three weeks, four weeks but he doesn’t need surgery so that’s very positive and hopefully he’s back soon.
“It’s been a disappointment but he’s looking forward to the next months. It’s good for him there is a final decision which he took with the recommendations of all the specialists and our medical department. He will do the next rehab here at the training ground.
“When there is a lot of noise around the players, very often they don’t perform on their top level in different situations. It’s important for him, it’s clear he will be a Crystal Palace player at least until summer. Right now he doesn’t need surgery so it’s clear what he needs to do in the next couple of weeks. Clarity is the most important thing.”