Patrick Vieira responds to Eberechi Eze, Odsonne Edouard Crystal Palace playing concerns

Patrick Vieira has said that Eberechi Eze is finding it “difficult” while he is not getting much game time at Crystal Palace but has called for patience with the midfielder.

Eze tore his Achilles tendon last May and only made his first steps back in a competitive game in November, coming off the bench against Aston Villa at Selhurst Park.

Since then he’s featured in just six of the following 14 Premier League matches for a combined total of just 108 minutes.

Eze started both of Palace’s FA Cup games against Millwall and Hartlepool but was left on the bench against Stoke with midfielders Conor Gallagher, Luka Milivojevic and match-winner Jairo Riedewald all coming on ahead of him.

“There’s competition and he will have to be patient,” said Vieira on Friday afternoon. “When someone in the position in which he can play is having a little bit of trouble there can be a change.

“He finds it difficult at the moment but that is normal and I have to support him and I strongly believe he has the ability to be part of our team and what we are trying to do.

“I have to be sure we give him the right support to get back his ability and confidence to start playing games. It’s still a long season and we still have games and he will be playing, there’s no doubt about it.”

Vieira’s insistence that Eze will get more time on the pitch as the season progresses is what fans have been hoping to hear but whether it actually corresponds to minutes remains to be seen.

It’s also not a guarantee where Vieira will play Eze. So far this season the 23-year-old has been deployed centrally for brief spells against Man United and Norwich in the league, though most of his minutes have been playing on the left.

Another player struggling for game time