Brighton's German head coach Fabian Hurzeler has three major injury concerns ahead of the Manchester City clashBrighton's German head coach Fabian Hurzeler has three major injury concerns ahead of the Manchester City clash
Brighton's German head coach Fabian Hurzeler has three major injury concerns ahead of the Manchester City clash
All the latest team news for Brighton and Hove Albion ahead of their Premier League trip to Manchester City
Brighton will be without the talents of Lewis Dunk, Matt O’Riley and Joel Veltman for the trip to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Skipper Dunk has been sidelined with a rib injury for the last five matches and continues his recovery. O’Riley had a stomach bug for the 2-1 FA Cup fifth round win at Newcastle and then missed last Saturday’s victory against Fulham with a knee issue.
This Saturday’s match at the Etihad will arrive too soon for both.
"It's getting closer, but it's still not an option,” said Hurzeler in his pre Manchester City press conference. “So hopefully he can use the international break so that he will be back for the game against Nottingham.
The head coach added: “Matt O'Reilly still has a little bit of problems with his knee, so he won't be an option for tomorrow, but also he can use the international break quite good to be an option for Nottingham.”
O’Riley is one of a number of summer signings – including Ferdi Kadioglu and Mats Wieffer – who have struggled with injuries this term.
"I still have the hope that they will be good this season,” Hurzeler said. “So we're working hard on this and they're working hard on this and I think the season is still long, there's still a lot of games to play, so therefore we really try to push hard to get them back to the team as quick as possible.
"The Premier League has a special intensity, you can't compare it with the other leagues they've played before, so therefore we really have to give them this time to adapt and we do it as a team and they do it as an individual and hopefully they will all be a good option for us during this season.
Defender Joel Veltman will also miss out as he continues to struggle with a foot injury. Veltman’s absence will however be offset by the return of full back Tariq Lamptey, who is available for selection once again having served his one-match suspension against Fulham.
"He's [Veltman] progressing quite good,” said the Albion boss. “So also there when we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of an international break, for him it's an advantage because he can use it as a recovery time and I think we can use it for several players regarding Dunk, regarding O’Riley that we have them available after an international break so therefore it's an advantage for us.”