Roy Hodgson warns of putting Wilfried Zaha under too much pressure

Roy Hodgson has warned not to put too much pressure on Wilfried Zaha as he continues his comeback from injury.

Zaha sustained a knee injury at the start of February, and had been out of the Crystal Palace side for just over a month before his return against Chelsea.

But Hodgson has warned against expecting Zaha's return to bring with it an instant improvement in results.

"Neither Wilf nor I can guarantee that he's going to be able to find that level of form again", said Hodgson. "I'd rather not put him under that much pressure. All we want from Wilf Zaha is the desire, the determination and the character to do what we know he can do.

"When you focus the spotlight so much on one person I think it's very, very dangerous. I'm hoping there'll be quite a few other players who step up in these final games."

Crystal Palace play fellow relegation rivals Huddersfield on Saturday - one of five games in their last eight against sides in the bottom half of the Premier League.

"I think every game we're going to play between now and the end of the season will be a massive game", said Hodgson. "We've got to be well prepared. We're playing a Huddersfield team who we know are very good and difficult to beat.

"This year is exceptional. Normally there's at least three groups in the Premier League. You've got your top six or seven, then you've got another six or seven that are fairly safe. But this year we have the top group and the rest.

"It's going to be a tough period and a nervous period for a lot of teams in these last eight games."