Crystal Palace captain Dann hopes to return for final game of the season

Scott Dann hopes to return to first team action before the end of the season after missing the last month through injury.

Dann has been out with a knee ligament injury picked up in Palace’s 2-1 win at Chelsea last month but says he is back running again.

The Palace skipper will not be fit in time for Palace’s game with Hull at Selhurst Park on Sunday but hopes to play against Manchester United at Old Trafford next week.

Dann said: “The injury is coming along really well; I’m back outside running again and hopefully I’ll be training with the lads by the start of next week, so I could play a part in the Manchester United game.

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“Hopefully it won’t be a crucial one for us, and we’ll get the job done on Sunday.”

Crystal Palace are four points above third from bottom Hull with two games remaining and they know that a win over the Tigers on Sunday will guarantee them a place in the Premier League next season.
And Dann says the Palace squad are all fully aware of how important Sunday’s game is.

He added: “Having our destiny in our own hands is all you can ask for. Obviously, we don’t want to be in this position but when you consider where we were a few months ago and the results we’ve had, that should give us confidence.

“Everybody knows how big a game this will be, and it’s all about staying calm and producing your best performance despite everything that’s riding on the result. We can’t get caught up too much in the occasion because if we perform to our best, then we’ll get what we need, so we just need to focus on the task in hand.”