Crystal Palace are currently going through a purple patch.

Three games may be a short run of good form, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Eagles have won all of them without conceding a goal. Newcastle, Brighton and Watford – all teams in the bottom half of the table – have come out second best to Roy Hodgson’s side, which has seen them move up to 39 points.

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Andros Townsend, though, has not played a single minute during that run, instead spending the full 90 minutes in each match on the bench.

It has not been the best season for the £13.5m-valued England international – as per Transfermarkt. He has spent a proportion of it on the sidelines through injury, whilst his gambling addiction admission in December is likely to have been a hard thing for him to share with the general public.

But he still has plenty to offer the Selhurst Park outfit. Wilfried Zaha may get much of the credit as Palace’s star man, but Townsend has been an attacking force for the London side in the past as well. Last season, he managed six goals and five assists, whilst the term before that saw him provide eight of the latter in the top flight.

His trickery has often caused Premier League defences plenty of problems, and he has provided some truly magic moments along the way – who can forget his stunning hit against Manchester City last season.

This term has seen him start just nine matches but, now back from injury, this weekend may present the perfect opportunity for Hodgson to throw him back into the action. Palace face Bournemouth, who are currently 18th in the table and low on confidence – they have not won any of their last four matches in the Premier League – whilst the Eagles themselves are flying high.

There could hardly be a better time in which to re-introduce him to the fray and from a mental perspective, it sends the right message amongst the players too – even on the back of three successive wins, nobody’s place in the team is safe and there’s always ways to improve the side.

Townsend is a quality player at his best and Palace are likely to a better, more threatening side with him in it – despite their impressive results this season, the Eagles are still the six-lowest scoring team in the Premier League, and they would benefit from the winger’s offensive impact.

The sooner he finds his previous levels, the better for himself and the Selhurst Park outfit.

Meanwhile, Palace continue to track this forward.