Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has been named in Ivory Coast’s provisional squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, reports the BBC.
Zaha, 24, announced his decision to turn his back on England to represent the country of his birth at the end of November and Palace now look set to lose one of their key players for up to a month.
Gareth Southgate has urged Zaha to reverse his decision and make himself available for England selection, despite the fact he hasn’t featured for the Three Lions since 2013, but the former Manchester United winger has moved a step closer to completing the switch.
AFCON is due to start at the start of next month and would mean Zaha could miss up to a month’s action depending on how far the Ivory Coast progress, which would be a huge blow to Palace’s chances of avoiding the drop.
Zaha isn’t the only Premier League player included in Ivory Coast’s provisional squad, with Manchester United’s Eric Bailly and Sunderland defender Lamine Kone also included.
Only Eden Hazard (83) has completed more dribbles in the Premier League this season than Zaha (74), who is also the joint-second highest player in the league away from home (8.07).
For more stats on Wilfried Zaha, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
