"?Crystal Palace's emphatic 4-1 victory over Stoke City on Sunday was dampened somewhat by news that defender James Tomkins was forced to leave Selhurst Park on crutches.
Tomkins, who scored on his full debut for the Eagles with the game's opening goal, was withdrawn at half-time after suffering a knee injury, with Damien Delaney coming on in his place.
Palace manager Alan Pardew said: "He [Tomkins] has a good first half but just over-stretched his knee a little bit when he made a tackle before half-time.
James Tomkins' first half by numbers:
100% tackles
86% pass accuracy
5 clearances
1 goal
1 interception pic.twitter.com/gMyah0rKhS
"We'll just have to see how it is. Hopefully it's not too bad."?
Tomkins tweeted following the game: "Fantastic result and great to score on my full debut!"
Pardew was delighted with his side's performance after following up last weekend's victory over Middlesbrough with another three points, steadying the ship after an uncertain start to the season.
"The team looked as though they knew what they were doing today. Our passing options, the shape of the team and the power of the team meant that it was a performance that you have a vision for, and it all worked well today.
"Now we have to look for consistency because if we can do that every week "? obviously not scoring four every week but reach that level of performance "? then we'll have a good season."?
Pardew also expressed his happiness at a marked improvement from Andros Townsend, after the winger had an outstanding game while grabbing the fourth goal.
"In his first few games he's not really produced a quality moment offensively, but he's done all his jobs defensively and has been sound and solid for us. In training we've seen it wasn't a true reflection of his ability but today he showed both sides. I'm sure he'll be very pleased with his performance because I am- he was terrific today."?