Danny Murphy voiced his disappointment at Conor Gallagher being unable to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy sent his sympathy to the on-loan Crystal Palace midfielder after it was confirmed he wouldn’t be allowed to play his parent club at Wembley next month.
Not fair on Conor at all
It feels extremely wrong that Gallagher will not be in attendance for Palace’s biggest game of the season so far.
He has probably been Patrick Vieira’s most consistent performer, with the statistics to support such a statement.
13 goal contributions across all competitions is more than any of his teammates have managed.
Even in the games where he isn’t scoring or assisting, his presence can be felt throughout the field.
Just take the FA Cup quarter-final win over Everton that set up the showdown with Chelsea.
Gallagher glided across Selhurst Park, tearing up the Toffees with exceptional regularity.
His reward for such an energetic display? The Emirates Player of the Match award, of course.
Which makes the fact he will be eligible for the last four showdown against the Champions League holders even more upsetting.
“It’s more sad than wrong. I understand the reasons but I’m just gutted for somebody who has given so much this season,” said Murphy on Gallagher having to miss out on the grand occasion.
“He was tremendous again (against Everton). Brilliant performance.”
Why can’t Conor play Chelsea?
The reason the England international cannot challenge Chelsea is because of the loan agreement when he joined Palace last summer.
Understandably, the Blues do not want one of their own coming back to haunt them, therefore they denied the 22-year-old the chance to thwart Thomas Tuchel.
Of the Eagles’ 34 fixtures this term, Gallagher has only been unavailable for four of them.
Including the FA Cup semi, three of those will have arrived against Tuchel’s team.
It’s a cruel sport, but we know Conor has the ability and character to bounce back from this immediately.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
