Crystal Palace attack struggled against Ipswich Town on Saturday following Meteta absence from the squad after last week’s injury.
It was the first match the Eagles had to play without key striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who needed 25 stitches to a cut on his head following a challenge from keeper Liam Roberts in the FA Cup win over Millwall last weekend.
Ismaila Sarr scored the only goal of the game as Palace won their fourth match in a row to beat Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park.
Sarr scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute when he dribbled the ball into the area and chipped it over Alex Palmer.
The result means the Eagles continue their good form and have lost just once in their past 13 games.
However, Matera absence presented a chance for forward Nketiah, who has had a stuttering time since joining Palace from Arsenal in the summer for a deal worth up to £30m.
The 25-year-old started just his seventh game of the Premier League season against Ipswich, and not all of those starts have been in his favoured position as a central striker.
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Nketiah looked to have turned a corner before this match and scored two goals in his past two games, with strikes coming against Aston Villa and Millwall in the FA Cup.
The one-time England international almost had the perfect start to this match when presented with a golden chance to keep his scoring run going. Wharton played the forward through with an excellent outside-of-the-foot pass but the striker could only shoot straight at Palmer.
Nketiah linked the play relatively well and tried to get on the end of a cross from Sarr in a bright moment, but he had a quiet afternoon on the whole.
It was always going to take time for Palace to adapt to playing with a different forward, but with Mateta likely to be fit for the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham, Nketiah may have to be happy with a place on the bench for that one.
Ipswich at threat of dropping away at bottom of table as the only side in the Premier League without a win this calendar year.
The loss to Palace leaves Kieran Mckenna’s side five points from safety in 18th position.
The only real positive for Ipswich was that Delap again looked the brightest spark of a team that has struggled.
The striker caused problems for the Palace backline, with England manager Thomas Tuchel watching.
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