sussexexpress.co.uk

Brighton issues James Milner injury update after Burnley absence

All thew reaction from Brighton’s 2-0 win against Burnley at Turf Moor

Fabian Hurzeler fully expects to have veteran midfielder James Milner back in contention soon.

Milner, 40, was a surprise absentee from Albion's 2-0 victory against Burnley at Turf Moor today.

The former Liverpool man has been key for the Seagulls of late but missed out on the latest victory after a training ground injury.

Sweden international Yasin Ayari replaced Milner at the base of the midfield, alongside Pascal Gross, with Jack Hinshelwood keeping his position in the advanced midfield role.

Brighton coped well without Milner but Hurzeler will hope to have him available for selection in time for next Saturday's clash at Roberto De Zerbi's Tottenham.

"It was small, minor issue," confirmed Hurzeler to BBC Sussex after the victory - Albion’s fifth in their last six Premier League matches.

"[It happened] in the training yesterday. Lets see how long it takes. I'm convinced we will see him back soon."

Brighton on track for Europe

Meanwhile, Hurzeler insists Brighton can qualify for Europe if they stay humble after Mats Wieffer’s brace moved them to within two points of sixth-place and edged Burnley closer to relegation.

The Dutchman produced two clinical finishes, in the 43rd and 89th minutes, to fire the visitors to a 2-0 victory over opponents who look destined for the drop.

Although Scott Parker’s men saw Jaidon Anthony and Bashir Humphreys both have efforts disallowed for offside, they lacked the quality to trouble an Albion side who took the lead when Wieffer swept a low drive past Martin Dubravka after Yankuba Minteh and Pascal Gross had combined.

The 26-year-old pounced again in the closing stages, sweeping home a perfectly-placed finish from Yasin Ayari pass.

With Albion recording a third straight win for the first time this term, Hurzeler said: “What I want to say, regarding our run, is that we are now better at managing the key moments.

“The results will always come if daily we have the right work ethic and the right behaviour. Now we try to go all in and play every game like it is a final.

“I’m not a big fan of talking about Europe, but we are known as a well-structured and well-run club. On the other side, we are also ambitious and we want to keep improving.

“Most importantly, we need to earn the right to compete with the top teams and if we show that right then we can always be confident.”

Hurzeler: Not our best game

Hurzeler added: “It was not our best game and we were a little lucky with two tight (offside) decisions.

“The Premier League is so competitive and there’s no such thing as an easy game. So we had to work hard and show the right effort, which we did.”

Continue Reading

Read full news in source page