Hodgson also says defender Mamadou Sakho facing long time out with calf injury
Thursday 14 December 2017 19:37, UK
Roy Hodgson admits Christian Benteke's current form is a concern and says Crystal Palace cannot afford to carry a striker that is not scoring.
Benteke has not scored since May and missed an injury-time penalty against Bournemouth last weekend that could have won Palace the match.
The Belgian was not the designated penalty taker, leaving Hodgson frustrated that his striker had taken matters into his own hands with usual taker Luka Milivojevic, who scored earlier from the spot, still being on the pitch.
Speaking before Crystal Palace's trip to play Leicester, live on Sky Sports from 11:30am on Saturday, Hodgson said: "Of course when your front player - the man who is a pivotal focal point in your attack - is not scoring, it's a concern.
"It's a concern to him, it's a concern to us and it's a concern to fans.
"He can do nothing more than keep working at it, keep working very, very hard."
Benteke's form is a particular problem for 18th-placed Palace given they have only scored 12 Premier League goals this season - only bottom-of-the-table Swansea have scored fewer.
The Belgian cost over £30m when he signed from Liverpool in August 2016, and Hodgson warned Benteke that Palace can't afford to carry him.
He said: "If the goals aren't coming he needs to be making certain he's making a good contribution to the team's play, both in terms of our attacking and our defensive play.
"We certainly can't afford to carry anybody, let alone carry a goalscorer that isn't scoring goals."
Hodgson also confirmed Palace are set to lose defender Mamadou Sakho for a long period of time with a calf problem sustained against Bournemouth.
"It's far too early [to tell]," Hodgson said.
"It's a serious muscle strain or tear and the doctors won't put a timescale on that. It's going to be a while that's for sure."
