Roy Hodgson will miss Crystal Palace’s trip to Aston Villa after 76-year-old ‘was taken unwell’ on Saturday… with Paddy McCarthy to lead the Eagles instead

Roy Hodgson will not be in the dugout for Crystal Palace‘s trip to Villa Park this after being ‘taken unwell’ earlier on Saturday. 

According to the Eagles’ Twitter account, their manager will not be present for the match, with Paddy McCarthy and Ray Lewington set to lead the team in their Premier League match against Aston Villa.

A club statement on Twitter read: ‘Unfortunately Roy Hodgson was taken unwell earlier today and is not at Villa Park. 

‘Roy is in contact with Paddy McCarthy, who will take the team today assisted by Ray Lewington. 

‘Roy sent his best wishes to the team ahead of the match. We send our very best wishes to Roy.’

Paddy McCarthy (left) will take charge of Palace at Villa Park in Hodgson’s absence

The 76-year-old is currently in his second spell as Crystal Palace manager after having re-joined the side in March of this year, taking over from outgoing manager Patrick Vieira. 

The former Arsenal man was sacked amid the Eagles’ poor run of form that saw them fail to win in 12 straight matches between January and March. 

Eagles owner Steve Parish was fearful the club could be relegated, considering their results, and once again called upon Hodgson to help steady the ship. 

The former England manager did just that, guiding the Eagles to an 11th place finish, winning five of his side’s final 10 league matches. 

Despite only initially coming back to the club for a short period, Hodgson ultimately decided to stay on as the Palace boss this season. 

His side have endured a mixed start to the 2023-24 campaign, having won two games against Sheffield United and Wolves, while losing to Arsenal 1-0 at home, before drawing to Brentford. 

A win at Villa Park could see Palace climb into the top four, depending on results elsewhere.

Assistant manager, McCarthy, has worked in his role with Palace since Hodgson returned to the club in March. He also made 151 appearances for Palace between  2008 and 2016. 

Lewington, meanwhile, has also worked as an assistant coach to Hodgson and will lead the team today alongside McCarthy in the manager’s absence. 

Ray Lewington (left) will assist McCarthy, with Hodgson unable to take his place on the touchline

Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Hodgeson spoke of the test Aston Villa will present his side on Saturday afternoon, saying: ‘[It will be] a severe one. 

‘They’re [Aston Villa] good. They were good last season. They finished seventh and got into European competition for the first time in a long while, a great achievement.

‘They’ve started this season well also and strengthened their team with two or three really important signings which has made them even stronger.

‘Like so many other Premier League teams we meet, they’re there to be not only respected but feared because of what they’re capable of doing, so one has to prepare one’s own team as best as one can so that nothing they do is going to catch us completely by surprise, but we still have to deal with the quality of their players.’