Crystal Palace captain Scott Dann has suffered knee ligament damage during the win at Chelsea and will be out for several weeks, it has been confirmed.
Dann entered the game at half-time as a substitute for the injured James Tomkins but was forced off at the hour mark himself.
In the aftermath of blocking a shot from Diego Costa, the 30-year-old got in a tangle of legs with the striker, twisting his knee in the process before falling to the ground in agony.
Following on-field treatment, Dann was stretchered off and replaced by Damien Delaney who is expected to stand in for Dann at the heart of the defence alongside Mamadou Sakho in his absence.
“[The injury was] more serious than we first thought. He’ll be in a brace for two or three weeks and then we’ll go from there,” Allardyce confirmed this morning at his press conference.
James Tomkins, who was also forced off injured, will miss Palace’s next game away at Southampton.
