Welbeck injury update isn’t good: West Ham v Brighton team news
Fabian Hurzeler issued a concerning injury update on Danny Welbeck when talking through the Brighton team news ahead of the trip to West Ham United.
The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History revealed Welbeck is “not in the best shape” and that a decision on when he will return will be made on a week-by-week basis.
Given the Albion’s history for downplaying injuries – hello minor knock to James Milner which has lasted nearly four months and counting – it does not sound like we will be seeing Welbeck back in a Brighton shirt anytime soon.
This poses a significant problem for Hurzeler. Welbeck was arguably the biggest factor in the Seagulls’ impressive start to the season.
Dat Guy racked up six goals and two assists in the opening 10 games of the campaign. Those contributions earned eight points.
Take that away from Brighton’s current total and the Albion would sit 15th in the table, level on points with Crystal Palace.
Replacing Welbeck looks mighty difficult. Whilst Joao Pedro performed well as a number 9 under Roberto De Zerbi last season, he has struggled in the role with Hurzeler at the helm. The way Hurzeler plays brings out the best in Pedro at number 10. But not when leading the line.
Evan Ferguson meanwhile has only one Albion goal in almost 13 months now. Brighton would be fine if the Irishman could discover his form of 2022, when he became the Premier League’s joint-top scoring teenager in a calendar year alongside Wayne Rooney. It looks a bloody big if.
At the other end of the pitch, Ferdi Kadioglu and Jack Hinshelwood remain absent. I maybe remembering this incorrectly, but those two were also said to have minor injuries at the time they were ruled out.
Kadioglu last played seven weeks ago in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool. Hinshelwood has been out six weeks since the 2-1 win over Manchester City.
This just hammers home the point that Welbeck not being in the best shape could actually mean his brain has been removed.
Before you decide to commit to Christmas shopping with the other half on Saturday because there is no hope of a result at the London Stadium, how about some positive West Ham v Brighton team news?
Hurzeler confirmed Joel Vetlman is back in training and available for Saturday. The Albion average 2.80 goals against in games where Veltman has not played this season, compared with just 1.09 when he has started.
That feeds into a record of six wins, four draws and one defeat with Veltman. Without him, it is zero wins, two draws, three defeats.
Veltman surely comes straight back into the XI at right back. Tariq Lamptey had a torrid time of it defensively in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, so much so that he was hauled at half time by Hurzeler in a tactical reshuffle.
The other big question for Hurzeler is whether Lewis Dunk keeps his place. The Albion captain was poor against Palace and Brighton are yet to win a game since his return to the side in place of Igor Julio.
There is a growing clamour amongst Brighton supporters for Hurzeler to drop Dunk and reinstate Igor. Does Hurzeler have the balls to take such a decision?
Nobody at the pre-West Ham press conference seems to have asked Hurzeler for his thoughts on Dunk. Meaning we will just have to wait until team announcement time from the London Stadium.
