Christian Benteke back training with Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke has returned to training as he steps up his recovery from a knee ligament injury.

The 26-year-old has spent the last six weeks on the sidelines since sustaining the injury in the 5-0 defeat to Manchester City, ruling him out of six games so far.

Benteke was not expected to return to competitive action until the start of next month, but he is now back with his teammates at the Eagles' Beckenham base.

According to Sky Sports News, there is an outside chance that the Belgium international could be in contention for Palace's meeting with Everton on November 18 when Premier League action resumes.

Former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Benteke failed to score in 522 minutes of top-flight action before being struck down by injury.