James McArthur and Wilfried Zaha return to Crystal Palace training ahead of FA Cup clash

Patrick Vieira has received a welcome boost this week by the return of both Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur to first-team training.

The experienced pair have both been spotted working with the rest of the squad ahead of the Eagles' FA Cup clash with Hartlepool on Saturday.

Zaha has been absent for the last month due to his involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast. The Elephants progressed through the group stage in second place but then lost on penalties to Egypt in the last-16, with Zaha scoring his spot-kick but exiting the tournament.

McArthur has been unavailable for even longer due to a hamstring injury he sustained back in November that has ruled him out of action ever since.

Vieira has missed the midfielder and his experience in the team, with McArthur having started every Premier League game for Palace before getting injured and wearing the captain's armband on six occasions.

The 34-year-old returned to individual training during January before joining back in with the rest of the squad over the last week.

It's unclear whether Zaha or McArthur are going to be deemed ready to play a part in Saturday's game against Hartlepool, though Vieira should confirm this at his press conference on Friday afternoon.

Palace are in the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2019 having beaten Millwall 2-1 at The Den in the previous stage of the competition.