Jody Morris has said he is ‘gutted’ that Conor Gallagher won’t be able to play in the semi-final between and on Sunday.
Gallagher, 22, has spent the season on loan at Palace from the Blues and has emerged as one of the Premier League’s best young midfielders, with eight goals and five assists in all competitions for the Eagles.
His efforts have seen him capped by England for the first time, and have helped Palace reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for only the third time in the last 27 years.
However, he will play no part in Sunday’s game after Chelsea turned down Palace’s special request to allow the midfielder to play against his parent club, a decision that Eagles manager Patrick Vieira has already heavily criticised.
But while former Chelsea midfielder and assistant manager Morris says he feels sorry for Gallagher, he also understands the clubs’ decision, telling : ‘I’m gutted Gallagher will miss out this weekend… it’s a real shame he won’t be able to play.
‘I can’t see Crystal Palace beating Chelsea this weekend, to be honest – especially when Conor isn’t allowed to play, which is such a shame, by the way.
‘I think Patrick Vieira said in the week that this was exactly the reason why players like Conor go on these loans; to get away and experience these types of games.
‘And when you’ve been so pivotal in a team’s success in the way that Conor has been for Palace, you can’t help but think it’s a real shame he won’t play a part on Sunday.’
During his nine-year-spell at Stamford Bridge, Morris won the 2000 FA Cup, and later coached the Chelsea youth teams, before becoming assistant manager to Frank Lampard at Derby County and then Chelsea.
He added: ‘We were lucky when me and Frank were at Derby because we played against Chelsea [in the League Cup in 2018] and they allowed us to play Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori because they felt it was great for their development; I mean, we won’t talk about Tomori’s own goal in that game, but anyway!
‘It’s such a shame Conor won’t be able to play for Palace, and I’m absolutely gutted for him as a lad, because he deserves to be playing on the big stage. But that only strengthens Chelsea’s chances of making the final; you can’t look past them at Wembley.’
The FA Cup is Chelsea’s best chance of adding to their silverware this season, with the Blues out of the title race and 3-1 down in their Champions League quarter-final tie with Real Madrid.
Palace meanwhile have never won a major trophy, and, without Gallagher in their side, will have to be at their very best to beat Chelsea at Wembley.
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