Pedro has MRI on ankle injury: Norwich v Brighton team news
Who plays up front for Brighton in their FA Cup third round tie away at Norwich City will make for interesting team news after Fabian Hurzeler revealed Joao Pedro has an ankle injury.
Pedro twisted his ankle in training on Wednesday and was immediately sent for an MRI scan. The Albion are now waiting on the results, which will determine whether he will be involved at Carrow Road.
With Danny Welbeck doubtful and Evan Ferguson also side lined, it means the Seagulls could head to Norfolk without a recognised senior striker available.
Should the severity of the injury rule Pedro out for several weeks, then it will surely mean no January departure for Ferguson.
The Irish forward has been linked with loan and permanent moves to clubs ranging from Arsenal and Chelsea to West Ham United, now under the management of Glow Up Graham Potter.
Letting Ferguson depart seemed like a risky game even before Pedro twisted his ankle, given no timeframe has been put on Welbeck’s return.
If Brighton still sanction a move for Ferguson, then we can only presume the club have completely and utterly lost their minds.
The job of leading the line against the Canaries will probably now fall to either Julio Enciso or Georginio Rutter. They would represent square peg in round hole solutions.
There is no obvious candidate from the Under 21s who could step up either. Mark O’Mahony is on loan at Portsmouth and hardly pulling up any trees.
Josh Duffus and Cam Peupion have scored their fair share of Premier League 2 goals so far this season. But like Enciso and Rutter, they are more number 10s than out-and-out strikers.
20-year-old Louis Flower is the only traditional number nine in the development squad. It would be a blooming big risk to throw him in for a first debut at Norwich – although he may grow into the role.
Team news from the other end of the pitch is that Brighton also go to Norwich with defensive issues. Lewis Dunk remains injured having missed the 1-1 draw with Arsenal and Igor Julio has undergone surgery on a torn thigh.
It leaves Jan Paul Van Hecke and Adam Webster as the only two first team centre backs available. And Webster is only just back from three months out. It would be asking a lot to expect him to complete 90 minutes.
The Under 21s are at least more blessed with defensive options than strikers, should Hurzeler turn to youth. Ruairi McConville would be the obvious candidate to make his first appearance for the Albion, having been handed an international debut by Northern Ireland back in November.
Jack Hinshelwood and Mats Wieffer are both still injured, alongside long-term absentees Ferdi Kadioglu and James Milner.
Hurzeler also said the game comes too early for Diego Gomez to be involved. This comes as something of a surprise.
You would have thought an FA Cup tie against mid table Championship opposition would be the perfect opportunity to get 20 minutes from the bench under the belt of the £12 million signing from Inter Miami.
With so many key players like Pedro, Welbeck, Dunk and Hinshelwood on the injury list, the opportunity for Hurzeler to rotate is limited.
In any case, The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History spoke in his pre-Norwich press conference about the importance of the FA Cup.
Hurzeler said he will make changes but not too many. He watched the Albion’s FA Cup semi final penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in 2023 on TV and believes the competition represents a chance for Brighton to win a trophy.
Just make sure that whoever plays out of Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele does not score two own goals in the space of 20 minutes…
