Palace fans will have to wait even longer to see Nicola Ventola back in action, after he suffered a suspected broken ankle in training.
The Italian forward has been recovering from a knee injury and was on the brink of a return to full fitness when the new injury blow struck.
He has managed just two substitute appearances for Palace since joining from Inter Milan on a year’s loan in the summer.
Iain Dowie said: "He may have a spiral fracture of his tibia. It might be four to six weeks."
"It's a massive blow to the lad. We all feel for him because he's desperate to be a part of it. He even pulled me up afterwards to say he was terribly sorry because that's the sort of lad he is.
"He's in a plaster at the moment and he's out of the loop for a long time."