Crystal Palace will welcome Eberechi Eze back into their matchday squad on Saturday for their Premier League trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.
The 23-year-old last played for the Eagles’ first team on May 16 against Aston Villa before he sustained an Achilles tendon injury in training three days later that has kept him on the sidelines ever since.
His recovery stepped up over the last month with appearances for Palace’s Under-23s against Blackburn and Chelsea, and he has now been deemed fit enough to join the matchday squad for the first team clash against Burnley.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Eagles boss Patrick Vieira said: “Eze is doing really well. He played two games of 90 minutes and he has been training with the team and he will be part of the group that will travel to Burnley.
“He is a talented player but he still has a long way to go from his best. We have to remind ourselves that he will need to get back to where he was because of the injuries that he had. But he will get there.
“He’s building up his confidence week after week. He played two games with the Under-23s and we played an in-house game, a friendly that he was feeling really well [in].
“He is improving, but I think we have to give him time to get to where he was before his injuries.”
Vieira also revealed that midfielder James McArthur is unavailable for the match after picking up a hamstring injury while will rule him out for a couple of weeks.
The 34-year-old has started every Premier League match of the season so far for Palace and so will be a big loss, though Palace have at least bene boosted by the return of Nathan Ferguson to first-team training over the last week.