Brighton missing up to 10 players with injuries for trip to Forest
Heading to the the City Ground to watch the Albion take on Nottingham Forest? Then take your boots with you as Brighton are suffering so many injuries that Roberto De Zerbi might have to start pulling people out of the away end to play.
Up to 10 players could be missing for the clash with the Tricky Trees as Europa League football begins to take its toll on the Seagulls squad.
James Milner, Pervis Estupinan and Lewis Dunk all limped out of the 2-0 win against Ajax with Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson having issues confirmed in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.
Combined with several long term absentees and Mahmoud Dahoud serving a three game suspension having lost his mind to get sent off against the Blades, Brighton look very short of options as they look to end a run of six Premier League games without a win.
Here is the full list of the missing, arranged in alphabetical order.
Mahmoud Dahoud
Dahoud is suspended for three matches – a ban which has come at the worst possible time for the Albion – rather than being on the injured list.
But some might say his inexcusable stamp on Ben Osborn, subsequent red card and three game suspension was the result of a brain problem.
Lewis Dunk
The Brighton captain has never really suffered with injuries at any time in his Albion career until the last six months.
Withdrew from the England squad in June and was forced to do so again for the latest round of internationals after picking up a groin issue towards the end of the first half against Ajax.
Not the first man to come back from Amsterdam with a groin issue, of course.
Julio Enciso
Enciso suffered a meniscus tear back in August. Such are the varying degrees of severity of meniscus tears that it is almost impossible to put a timeframe on a return.
And if a player rushes back too soon from a meniscus, it can be fatal for their career – just ask Jose Izquierdo.
Rumours have swirled that Enciso could return to competitive action at some point in December, but Brighton should be treading very carefully with such a talented young player.
Pervis Estupinan
His return from injury as a second half substitute against Ajax was over quicker than the track time of Bohemian Rhapsody. Roberto De Zerbi said afterwards: “I think they are not so important injuries, I hope.”
This now seems like a forlorn hope, with Estupinan sharing a post on Instagram stories of him watching Ecuador against Chile on television with his leg in a brace.
📱🚨 Pervis Estupiñan on Instagram…
Oh no. 😟 pic.twitter.com/LU2BraoKPD
— Ryan (@ryanadsett) November 21, 2023
Still, at least Brighton signed left back cover in the summer in case of injuries, rather than relying on Estupinan being the only option in that position. Oh…
Evan Ferguson
Flogging to death the teenager viewed as the saviour of your footballing nation represents a pretty odd move from the Republic of Ireland.
Ferguson had missed the Albion’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United due to a back problem. Still, he reported for international duty and was duly named by Stephen Kenny in the Republic’s starting XI against the Netherlands.
55 minutes later and Ferguson left the pitch injured with a hamstring injury. Bad backs are well-known for leading to issues in hamstrings, so you do not need to be Agatha Christie to suspect the problems are related.
Cheers, Ireland.
Tariq Lamptey
Everyone knows the crack with Lamptey by now. Three or four good games, everyone talks about how Lockdown Lamptey is back and finally over his injuries, then Brighton announce he is out for another month.
Since being the best Albion player on the pitch in the 2-2 draw against Marseille, Lamptey has not been seen. He did travel to Ajax but was not named on the bench either in Amsterdam or against Sheffield United.
Solly March
The most unlucky player in the Brighton squad, March suffered the third serious knee injury of his career when twisting awkwardly in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last month.
ACL surgery has followed with March certain to miss the rest of the season at a time when he was playing some of the best football of his life.
Kaoru Mitoma
Mitoma has been one of the few players not rotated heavily by De Zerbi this season. But that has now come at a price with the Japanese Bullet Train pulling out of international duty.
A joint statement issued by Mitoma and the Japanese FA read: “Since this is a World Cup qualifier, I joined the team believing in my potential to contribute.
“But unfortunately, seeing as I won’t be able to play at 100 per cent, I’ve decided to let my teammates play on my behalf, as much as I regret doing so. For now, I will work hard on recovering as soon as possible.”
What exactly Mitoma is recovering from nobody knows with his injury as yet unspecified. Fingers crossed it is nothing serious and he is fit for Forest.
James Milner
In typical fashion, a man who never seemed to get injured during his time at Liverpool despite being the same age as Dick Van Dyke has begun picking up niggling problems since moving to the Amex.
Hit by a muscular problem in the 2-2 draw with AEK Athens at the Amex and then limped off after only eight minutes against Ajax. He seems to dislike Europe almost as much as Nigel Farage.
Danny Welbeck
That October trip to the Etihad Stadium not only put paid to March’s season, but also resulted in Welbeck being ruled out “for a long time” according to De Zerbi.
Still, at least Brighton did not allow Deniz Undav to join Stuttgart on loan in the summer, leaving themselves willingly short of striker options in the event of injuries. Oh…
