Brighton vs Chelsea in the Premier League at the Amex Stadium - Tuesday, 8pm
Brighton may be without Diego Gomez for the rest of the season after he sustained a knee injury in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham.
The Paraguay international has been excellent for the Albion this term with five goals and an assist from 30 Premier League outings.
The 23-year-old was forced off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after 20 minutes and left the pitch in tears.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, speaking ahead of the match against Chelsea at the Amex Stadium, said scan revealed the injury was not as bad as many first feared and it will be a case of weeks rather than months.
That could though rule Gomez out for the rest of the Premier League campaign but he will hope to be fit for the World Cup this summer.
“Diego won't be available to face Chelsea,” Hurzeler said. “But there is quite positive news that it is not as bad as expected.
“Hopefully it is not an injury that keeps him out for months. It is not a big injury and hopefully it will be weeks, not months.
“He has something with his knee. We made a scan and made a re-scan. It is not as bad as some expected to be.”
Mitoma is fit
Hurzeler does though expect to have Kaoru Mitoma available to face Chelsea. The Japan international had an eventful day at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he replaced Gomez on 20 minutes, scored a cracking goal and was then substituted on the 75th minute due to cramps.
Hurzeler added: “Kaoru had some cramps, he felt it in the warm up but he had a very effective short performance on the pitch. He will be available for tomorrow.”
March and Milner
Solly March (muscular) and James Milner (muscular) have both been ruled out to face Chelsea but Hurzeler hopes to have both available before the rest of the season.
The head coach will also have to decide if veteran striker Danny Welbeck is fit to go from the start so soon after the Tottenham match. Charalampos Kostoulas is an option and had some rare minutes on the pitch at the Tottenham as he cam eon in the final stages.
Adam Webster (knee) and Stefanos Tzimas (knee) are the long-term absentees.
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