Galatasaray doctor aims dig at Crystal Palace over Wilfried Zaha fitness

A club doctor at Galatasaray says Wilfried Zaha is struggling for fitness because he had to save Crystal Palace from relegation.

The forward has made only two substitute appearances since leaving Selhurst Park for the Istanbul giants this summer despite arriving to huge fanfare.

Zaha’s last season at Palace was one disrupted by injury.

Despite being the key player at the club - albeit having seen Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze emerge as genuine stars - the 30-year-old was limited to 27 Premier League starts due to hamstring and muscle injuries.

Yener Ince, who works on Gala’s medical staff, believes the excursions of last season have had a knock-on effect on Zaha’s start to life in Turkey.

“Zaha had very long and recurring muscle injuries last season,” he said.

“He had to take [to] the field so that the team were not [to] be relegated.

“The sacrifices he made for his previous team have worn out the player.”