Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho has sustained a muscle tear in his calf and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the Premier League club's manager Roy Hodgson has said. Sakho, who returned from a serious knee injury in September, has captained Palace in their last four league games and suffered his latest setback in last Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. "He'll be out a long time, how long a time?, I don't know, they won't put a time on it, but it's a serious muscle tear in his calf so I don't know, but it's weeks not days, I couldn't say if it was months," Hodgson told reporters on Monday. "We'll miss him, in this period he's played a decisive role, been captain, shown his qualities and when you lose a player like that you can't be anything other than disappointed and sad." Fellow defender Joel Ward has also sustained a calf injury and will miss bottom-placed Palace's game against Watford later on Tuesday. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
