December 21 2002

Andy Johnson

Crystal Palace's injury-plagued season continues with news that Andrew Johnson is set to miss up to three weeks with a broken toe.

The 21-year-old striker did the damage against Sheffield United, after just returning from a spell out, and will miss the crucial Christmas period.

Dougie Freedman could be sidelined till March with his hernia injury.

Club physio GEORGE COOPER said: "It's expected he will be missing for around 8-12 weeks."

Tony Popovic is out with a shoulder complaint, Curtis Fleming, Craig Harrison and Jamie Smith are still out and Matt Clarke won't be back until next season.

Ade Akinbiyi is making a slow return to fitness after being out all season and Danny Granville is in the middle of serving a three-match suspension for an undeserved red card picked up against Oldham.

Going into Sunday's game against Rotherham, Kit Symons, who is returning to full fitness after a long time out injured himself said: "Quite a few people wouldn't back us to win but we're playing with confidence and we're playing well.

"We have a lot of injuries and we're very light on bodies but we can cope."