Journalist Tom Barclay said that Joachim Andersen could return for Crystal Palace's trip to Manchester United this weekend.

Andersen has missed the Eagles' last two Premier League matches with a hamstring injury, but Barclay failed to rule out the possibility of him featuring at Old Trafford.

How have Palace fared without Andersen?

Palace have been enjoying a generally productive season under Patrick Vieira, but when Andersen hasn't played, they've struggled.

Vieira's side have lost four times in the league, three of which have come without the Denmark international in the starting XI; the other being at Anfield.

Palace were seven unbeaten, but they've suffered since Andersen pulled up with a hamstring injury prior to last weekend's game with Aston Villa.

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Having seen their unbeaten run ended following a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, Palace suffered stoppage-time heartache at Leeds three days later to lose consecutive games for the first time under Vieira.

Palace had defended well for long spells at Elland Road but were hit with a sucker-punch late on as Liam Cooper won a penalty that Raphinha coolly dispatched.

It doesn't get any easier for Palace, who travel to Old Trafford on Sunday in what could be Ralf Rangnick's first game as United manager.

But in better news, Barclay said there's a possibility that Andersen will be available.

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What did Barclay say?

When asked for an update on Andersen, he told GIVEMESPORT: "It might even be that he's back for the weekend. But we'll see on that. He's fitted in really nicely, he's got great distribution, powerful player, he can defend as well."

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Will Andersen come straight back into the side against United?

James Tomkins didn't necessarily do a bad job in Andersen's absence, producing WhoScored ratings of 6.42, which was fifth in the Palace ranks against Aston Villa and 6.30 against Leeds, which was eighth.

However, Marc Guehi and Andersen have formed a brilliant partnership, which should allow the Dane to come straight back into Vieira's line-up.

Palace have lost just one of the 12 games that Andersen has started this season, so having him back would be a huge boost for Vieira after two difficult results.