'That's why he can't play' - Oliver Glasner confirms reason for Daniel Munoz absence as Crystal Palace face Fulham without impressive right-back

Munoz absent for Palace's game at Fulham

Munoz wasn't part of the Palace matchday squad on Sunday afternoon, with the experienced Nathaniel Clyne instead called upon at right wing-back in Glasner's favoured three-man setup. The Colombian wasn't the only first team regular to miss out on a spot in the starting XI at Fulham, with Will Hughes also starting from the bench as Eddie Nketiah came in for a rare start.

Nketiah scored his second league goal of the season on his first start as he featured alongside Yeremy Pino behind Jean-Philippe Mateta in attack. However, it was Munoz's absence that raised eyebrows after the 29-year-old hadn't missed a single minute of game time prior to Sunday's London derby.

And prior to the weekend game at Fulham, Glasner confirmed the reason behind Munoz's absence in west London, which was due to a knee injury.

'Sorry, mate, I have to rest you'

When asked by Munoz wasn't included in the matchday squad by Sky Sports, Glasner replied: "His knee. I said to Danny 'sorry, mate, I have to rest you' and that's why he can't play. He knee is a little bit swollen. Of course, we never take any risk, and that's why he misses today's game. We are hopeful that he can return to face City next Sunday."

And on Clyne's first league start of the season, Glasner said: "Clyne has not played many minutes, but he's always available and he knows what to do in this position. We know that we can always rely on Clyne.

"He's not that attacking player like Danny, but he's very reliable, so that's why he starts. Then we know maybe we are missing a very attacking wing-back, so we're getting a second striker on the pitch, in [Eddie] Nketiah, who has proven that he can score goals."

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'He's a mix between a right-back and a right winger'

Munoz has established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League following his arrival from Genk last January, and has become a mainstay in the Eagles starting XI. The Colombia international has scored three goals and provided two assists for the south London side in the Premier League this season as Glasner looks to mastermind a top-half finish.

And Glasner had praised Munoz ahead of Palace's game at Fulham, telling the club's official website over the weekend: "I think it's unfair to compare him with right-backs because when you play a back four, as a right-back, you have to be a little bit more cautious. He’s, let's say, a mix between a right-back and a right winger, and that's why we're also playing this system because we know his attacking style and we know that he's very dangerous. Even before he came to Palace, I think he scored five goals in the Belgium league in six months and that's just his nature.

"Of course his physicality, his runs, always being there and having this feeling in the box, at the far post, this is something special. You can't always have your right-back in the opposite box, but in our system we can, and that's one of the reasons why we play a back three. For us, Dani is a very important player. if you don't score many goals, and your right wing-back has now four… at the moment, after losing Ismaïla [Sarr, to injury] he's one of our few players who makes runs in behind without the ball, and that helps us."

Palace looking to bounce back in Europe

After Sunday's game at Fulham, Palace are next in action against Shelbourne in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night as they look to bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Strasbourg last month.

And Palace follow up their midweek European tie with the welcome of Premier League title contenders Manchester City. The Cityzens closed the gap on league leaders Arsenal to two points as they claimed a 3-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.