Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Patrick van Aanholt are major doubts for Crystal Palace’s crucial league game against Everton tomorrow.

Both clubs have endured dreadful starts to the season with Palace bottom and the Toffees just two points from the drop zone.

And the Eagles could be without Loftus-Cheek, who picked up a back problem while on international duty with England. First-choice left-back Van Aanholt is also likely to miss out due to a hamstring injury.

However, Christian Benteke will be available for selection after recovering from a knee injury.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: “We are assessing Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has a back spasm, but he didn't train on Thursday and we probably won`t know [if he is fit] until today or even on Saturday.

“Christian Benteke has trained all week which is very positive but Patrick van Aanholt is still suffering from his hamstring strain.

“We hope Christian can play a big part for us now going forward but it must be remembered he hasn't played for seven weeks.

“He is physically fit to play and I certainly don`t see it as a risk playing him. He has worked very hard to get himself 100 per cent fit and has had a number of training sessions this week.”