Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew expects Pape Souare to be "up and running" again within six months following a serious car crash.
The full-back had to be cut free from his Mercedes 4x4 and was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital for treatment after suffering injuries to both his jaw and thigh, but Pardew is confident he will make a full recovery within six months.
"Hopefully Pape will be out [of hospital] tomorrow," Pardew said at a news conference.
"It was a terrible accident. We owe a huge debt to the London air ambulance and the surgeons who helped him.
"We think he'll make a full recovery. I don't think we have any concerns [about Pape returning]. It was a broken thigh, that should repair as normal. He should be up and running again in four, five, maybe six months. He's very lucky his injuries aren't as bad as they could have been. The extent of some of the muscular injuries is still not known.
"A good number of players have gone up to see him. It was a serious incident. Apologies to all involved and thanks to all who helped. He isn't having the best of times, but we're all very supporting. We love Pape and can't wait to have him back."
Palace beat Middlesbrough 2-1 last week for their first Premier League win of the season and Pardew hopes they can add three more points to their tally after Sunday's home game against Stoke, who sit last in the table.
"Stoke have had some tough fixtures. Mark Hughes is a great manager, he's done well to change their style," he added.
"They've got a real good strike-force there. [Wilfried] Bony, [Marko] Arnautovic, [Xherdan] Shaqiri, Bojan [Krkic] are all great players. Bony wasn't really on our list of transfer targets, but that doesn't mean he's not a very good player.
"Every fixture's tricky. I do feel we're in a good place at the moment. We've got players coming back."
