Having Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha out injured would be a "huge blow" to Crystal Palace's chances of reaching the FA Cup final, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.

The £55.8m-rated pair suffered injuries on international duty and are doubtful for the Eagles' upcoming games.

What happened to Olise and Zaha?

International breaks are always an anxious time for Premier League managers, who want their players to perform well for their countries, but ultimately want them to return injury free.

Those anxious thoughts are ramped up in March, with the business end of the season just around the corner, not least for Crystal Palace, who have an FA Cup semi final in just over two weeks' time.

And Patrick Vieira has suffered a potential double blow ahead of their Wembley date with Chelsea later this month, with Olise and Zaha both sustaining injuries.

Firstly, 20-year-old Olise withdrew from the France Under-21 squad following 'inflammation' in his left foot, while the Eagles manager is also sweating over the fitness of Zaha after he sat out Ivory Coast's game with England after injuring his hamstring against France three days earlier.

After the 3-0 defeat, Ivory Coast manager Patrice Beaumelle provided a worrying update.

He said: "He had a grade one or two injury and because of the schedule of Crystal Palace, we don't have to take any risks because if it gets worse it is maybe six weeks or two months out."

Thankfully for Vieira, he revealed that both players could still return in time for Monday's meeting with Arsenal.

What did O'Rourke say about Olise and Zaha?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "If they were to be sidelined [for the Chelsea game], it would be a huge blow to Patrick Vieira's plans of getting Crystal Palace to the FA Cup final."

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Can Palace still reach the FA Cup final without Olise and Zaha?

Even with the pair at their disposal, getting the better of Chelsea is going to be tall order.

Palace are already underdogs for the game and will definitely be without another key player, Conor Gallagher, who can't play against the Blues because he's on loan from them.

So, seeing Olise and Zaha, two of their best and most in-form players miss out, will only lessen their chances of reaching only a third FA Cup final in their history even further.

Eberechi Eze did enjoy a return to form against Everton in the FA Cup before the break, but this potential double injury blow has come at completely the wrong time for Vieira's side.