On Tuesday, it was announced in the Colombian media that Crystal Palace had given Jefferson Lerma permission to travel and join up with Colombia’s national team squad.
The 29-year-old wasn’t involved for the Eagles in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea, and subsequently the club paused him travelling to South America before they could assess him medically again.
Colombia face Peru away on Saturday before travelling home for a match against all-conquering Argentina. These are World Cup qualifiers so mean a lot for everyone involved.
There was therefore some celebration in Colombia that Lerma had been allowed to join up with the squad and that he should be fit to play in both the matches in the coming days.
Lorenzo is quoted by RCN Noticias as saying: “Regarding Lerma, he had pain in his big toe, like tendonitis, which lasted a day, a day and a half. He only missed one training session (with Crystal Palace), he had a separate training session. When the club confirmed that there was no reason to retain him, he travelled to Barranquilla, he is now free of pain symptoms, so he is available.”
Crystal Palace will obviously hope every care is taken with their player and his fitness.
