Chadi Riad's Season Ends with ACL Tear for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have been hit with a major early‑season setback after Morocco international Chadi Riad was ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Medical tests this week confirmed the worst. As reported by the Daily Mail, scans showed a ruptured cruciate ligament after the defender was forced off on a stretcher in the 70th minute of Palace’s match against Everton.

One challenge, one twist, and his season is gone.

For Riad, it is a brutal repeat. This is the second serious knee injury of his career, another long spell on the sidelines looming just as he looked ready to push on. He had already endured time out in his first season at Selhurst Park, not long after his £12 million move from Barcelona.

The contrast with last season could hardly be sharper. Over the closing months of the campaign, Riad fought his way into the picture, earning regular minutes and growing in authority at the back. His rise was capped by a start in the UEFA Conference League final, where he helped Palace beat Rayo Vallecano to lift the trophy.

That night felt like a launchpad. This feels like a full stop.

Riad came into this season with clear intentions: secure his place, become a mainstay, turn promise into permanence. Instead, those ambitions have been ripped up by one misstep in a routine league fixture.

For the coaching staff, the injury creates an immediate problem. Palace had already moved to reinforce their defence in the transfer window, bringing in Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea and closing in on Joel Ordóñez from Club Brugge. Those deals now look less like smart depth and more like urgent necessity.

Riad will disappear into the long, lonely grind of rehabilitation. Palace must find a way to move on without him.