Ian Westlake and Jimmy Juan will miss Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace after picking up injuries in the 3-1 loss at Preston on Tuesday, while Richard Naylor is banned. Better news is that Jason De Vos, Scott Barron and Alan Lee are likely to play despite missing training since the Deepdale defeat.

Westlake received a dead-leg when tackled late in the second half by Callum Davidson, while Juan limped off in the first period with a recurrence of his groin injury. Juan's club Monaco have abandoned plans to catch him in action again at Selhurst Park, having watched him at Portman Road in the match against Millwall last week.

Naylor lost his appeal against his red card at Preston and misses the next two games as the sending off was his second of the season.

Central defender De Vos, set to become club captain if Jim Magilton decides to take the player/coach role at Oxford, had eight stitches to a wound above his left eye on Tuesday. A stitch was removed on Wednesday as it was too tight but the Canadian, Town's man of the match at Deepdale, will play against the Eagles.

Alan Lee is also expected to be in the side, despite injuring his foot in Saturday's game and then receiving another blow to the same foot on Tuesday. Scott Barron has improved after hurting his knee at Preston.

Royle is still smarting at Richard Naylor's red card at Deepdale, Town's fifth of the season, a club record: "How can we have five players sent off? I think we're the least physical side in the division along with Crewe. Five players sent off, all with simulation involved."

The Town boss has completed his "most damning report" ever on Tuesday's referee Eddie Ilderton and plans to write to the head of referees regarding the increase in simulation and the harassing of referees typified by Preston's players.

Royle says that the injury and suspension problems will see a number of youngsters come into the squad: "People like Chris Casement, Billy Clarke, Dean McDonald, maybe even Jaime Peters depending on fitness, will all come back into the reckoning. We'll reduce the squad down once we're more aware of the injury list tomorrow, but they're all in with a chance."

The game comes too soon for Jay McEveley, despite his excellent display for the reserves against Watford on Monday. The loanee from Blackburn is still in need of reserve games before he makes a first team return.

Despite more youngsters coming into his plans, Royle says he has not yet completely given up on Town's play-off chances: "I want to play our best side available. We're not at the experimental stage yet, that comes with two or three games to go and 10 points off a chance.

"We still have a realistic chance, and when I say realistic, it's still feasible. It's a tall order but it's been a tall order for a long time, and while it's arithmetically feasible, it's not the time for sending the youth team out just because it's the youth team."

Sam Parkin, Nicky Forster, Adam Proudlock and Gavin Williams all remain on the sidelines, with the latter three not expected to be back until the new season after undergoing knee operations. Parkin may well be in reserves action soon as he recovers from his broken ankle.

Shane Supple will continue in goal with Fabian Wilnis taking over from Richard Naylor alongside Jason De Vos. Sito will come in for Wilnis at right-back.

With Juan and Westlake out, Matt Richards, Owen Garvan and Darren Currie are likely to be joined in midfield by Jim Magilton, possibly playing his last game for the Blues before joining Oxford as a player/coach.

Up front, Alan Lee and Ricardo Fuller are likely to continue the partnership they started at Preston, with Danny Haynes taking over from one of them in the second half.

Palace are expected to be without former Town target Danny Granville who has a knee injury and Danny Butterfield with a pelvis problem, while John Macken, one of two Eagles red-carded at Portman Road at Christmas, has a back injury.

Saturday's referee is Kevin Friend from Leicestershire who has shown 36 yellow and one red card in 13 games this season. Friend's last Town game was the 1-0 home victory over Cardiff on the opening day of the season.

Squad from: Supple, Price, Wilnis, Barron, Sito, De Vos, Casement, Magilton, Garvan, Richards, Currie, Skard, Lee, Fuller, McDonald, Clarke.

Photo: Action Images

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