Crystal Palace already serve as a cautionary tale for how tough things can get without your best players.
The sale of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich has severely damaged their attacking threat, they are still winless in the Premier League in mid-October and Monday’s trip to Nottingham Forest feels like a huge match in determining the course of their season.
And it is this logic that explains why Palace must bite the bullet on Adam Wharton and accept that losing him in the short-term will pay dividends in the long run.
Medical staff at Palace have been weighing up whether or not Wharton should have surgery for a niggling groin problem the 20-year-old suffered on England duty at Euro 2024.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner admits the issue won’t “disappear” by itself, and that leaves two options.
Wharton could keep playing on, week after week, as he has been doing, taking painkillers to get through matches and receiving specialist treatment in the week. Or he could take an undefined period of time out to undergo surgery and hopefully recovery fully.
It is understandable why winless Palace are seemingly reluctant to be without Wharton. But the version of him they are currently getting is not the same player he was last season.
Until a couple of weeks ago, Wharton had been dribbled past more than any midfielder in the Premier League this season - a far cry from the tough-tackling, cultured passer that was described just months ago by Gareth Southgate as the “sort of player England haven’t had for seven or eight years”.
Crystal Palace must accept that losing Adam Wharton in the short-term will pay dividends in the long run
Cheick Doucoure is due to return to training this week, while Jefferson Lerma and Will Hughes have shown they remain of Premier League standard as they both approach 30.
The comfort blanket is thus there for Palace to pick the sensible option and address Wharton’s injury.
After painkillers, regular treatment and several assessments from various specialists, it feels time the injury is properly addressed to allow Wharton the time to return to the high levels he reached last season.
News of the club considering surgery has coincided with Wharton’s inclusion on the 25-man shortlist for the prestigious Golden Boy, an award run by Italian newspaper Tuttosport presented to the best European player of the year aged under 21.
His performances in the first half of the year did a lot of the heavy lifting for his nomination.
Palace must accept that losing Wharton for a while gives him the best possible chance of returning to that level. Put simply, Palace need one of their key players back to his best.
