Crystal Palace news: Matheus Franca continues injury comeback with U21s

Matheus Franca continued his journey to full fitness as he played about an hour of Crystal Palace Under-21s’ 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

Things in south London have not been ideal for Franca, who has made just 13 appearances since signing from Flamengo in the summer of 2023 – a deal that was worth in the region of £20m.

He made his first senior appearance of this season as a stoppage-time substitute in the 2-0 win over Doncaster in the fourth round of the FA Cup earlier this month.

Manager Oliver Glasner said Franca needed minutes and he was named in the starting line-up on Monday as the young Eagles side ran out comfortable winners.

It is always hard for first-team players coming down to what is effectively an academy side, and Franca has the added difficulty of having not played much football in the past year.

He was quiet at times in the first half but showed some nice touches. In one particular piece of play he closed down the Villa defence well before releasing a good pass into the area, which ended with a Palace shot and Franca almost getting on to the rebound.

The 20-year-old was brighter after the break. Perhaps knowing he was scheduled to play 60 minutes and not having to worry about tiring, he showed flashes of quality.

He had a shot blocked early in the second period, before he later cut in from the left and curled a good effort just wide with the keeper scrambling.

Franca showed a couple of times on the ball why there was so much excitement about his signing, but he needs more minutes before he can be expected to be a key part of Glasner’s first team.