Wilfried Zaha should return from injury to face Arsenal on Saturday, according to Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson.

Zaha was playing through injury against Norwich in Palace’s last Premier League game, and he had to sit out their FA Cup clash with Derby County as a result.

Speaking after the match, however, Hodgson insisted the winger should return in time for the Arsenal fixture.

“I do (think he’ll be fit), yes,” Hodgson said. “The fact is he was pressed into service against Norwich.

“If I had listened to the advice of the sports science and medical people and if Wilf had been a different person to the person he is, he wouldn’t have played against Norwich. But he did and he got through the game which was fantastic.

“I wasn’t prepared to ask him to push himself through another game against medical advice for a cup match.”

Zaha has three goals and two assists in 22 matches for Crystal Palace this season. That’s one every 370 minutes. It doesn’t matter what his record is though, because he’s definitely contributing to a goal against Arsenal.

The 27-year-old seems to make it his personal mission to prove himself exclusively on matchdays against the Gunners. The transfer saga over the summer only made things worse.

Most likely, he’s going to win a penalty, like in October. He rarely scores against the Gunners, with just one goal in 10 games, but he’s won two penalties in the last three.

Perhaps he’ll end up taking it too, given Luka Milivojevic is out. The midfielder is serving a suspension after his red card in the FA Cup against Derby.