Crystal Palace player finally breaks silence on social media four months after being banished from training

A Crystal Palace player who was reportedly banished from first-team training has broken his social media silence.

Back in September, it was reported that Palace defender Rob Holding was left out of the club's squad photo after being banished by Oliver Glasner.

At the time, the Austrian said: "Rob (Holding) is training individually at the moment.

"We will talk together. He knows the reason, but it is something that stays between me and Rob. Nothing public."

After four months in the wilderness, Holding made a return to social media on Monday as he posted a series of photos on Instagram, with a caption that read: "Lucky to have some of the best people around me."

Holding, 29, signed for Palace in a deal worth a reported fee of £4 million in the summer of 2023 but has failed to nail down a regular starting spot.

The Englishman has been badly hampered by multiple injury issues.

Even if Holding were to work his back to full fitness, he faces stiff competition for a first-team spot, with the Eagles having signed Chadli Riad, Maxence Lacroix, and Trevoh Chalobah during the summer transfer window, plus keeping hold of captain Marc Guehi.

Rob Holding has had a tough time at Crystal Palace. Image: Getty

After a tough start to the campaign, Palace are currently 15th in the Premier League but are on a three-match unbeaten run on the back of draws with Bournemouth and Chelsea plus a victory over Southampton.

Speaking after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Glasner said: "It was a difficult start to the game. And they deserved to take the lead in the first 30 minutes. We were too passive, we lost the ball too quickly, and then the pressure increased and increased, and we were punished.

"But at the end of the first half, we started to move the ball quicker, play more in their half and created some finishing opportunities and set-plays."

He continued: "This kept alive the belief we could come back. And the second half was much better in the aggressivity, in the intensity, in and out of position, creating chances, and then at the end scoring a really nice goal.

"So, I was really pleased with the performance over 60 minutes today, and especially I'm pleased with the reaction after the difficult start."

Palace will be back in action this weekend when they take on Stockport County in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.