Fabian Hurzeler faced the media today, ahead of the Brighton and Hove Albion v Chelsea clash on Tuesday.
Here’s what he said.
BRIGHTON TEAM NEWS
Kaoru Mitoma is available for Brighton’s second Double Gameweek 33 fixture, despite limping out of the Tottenham Hotspur game.
Hurzeler said the winger was merely suffering from cramp, even though he had only come on as a substitute himself.
“He’s good. He just had some some cramps. He felt a little bit in the warm-up but I think he had a very effective short performance on the pitch, being on the pitch scoring, helping us to get the equaliser, also had some some good actions. So, he just had minor, minor issues. He had a cramp and he will be available tomorrow.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Kaoru Mitoma
Diego Gomez, however, is out of the Chelsea match with a knee issue. The good news, at least, is that it’s not as serious an injury as first thought.
“Diego, he won’t be available but it’s quite positive news that it is not as bad as we expected. We have to go now week after week but hopefully it is not an injury that takes him out for months. We have to be patient now, we have to see how it all develops, it all evolves. Definitely, not a big injury that takes him out for months.
“It’s something with his knee. We made a scan and we have to rescan him in a few days to be clear what it is, but what I can say is that it’s not that bad like some of us expected it to be.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Diego Gomez
James Milner won’t return from the unspecified issue that’s ruled him out of the last two games.
“Not yet but I’m sure that we will see him back in the season.” – Fabian Hurzeler on whether James Milner will return on Tuesday
Solly March, meanwhile, sat out the draw with Spurs with a minor muscle problem. He won’t recover for Chelsea’s visit.
“It’s a minor issue he had in training. A small muscle… I wouldn’t say injury, but just an issue we have to be aware of. So, he won’t be available tomorrow, but then he should be back.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Solly March
Lewis Dunk returns from a two-match ban for the midweek game. There are no guarantees he ousts Olivier Boscagli at centre-half, however.
“First of all, like we know how important our skipper is for us and how he was out for a few weeks. He could recover well regarding his knee. We all know that he plays a really good season so far. He’s a big personality. He gives me a lot, he helps me a lot, he supports me a lot. So therefore, if he’s fully fit, of course, we want to have him on the pitch.
“Regarding Ollie, he played two really good games. He showed his quality. He immediately replaces Lewis in a very impressive way. So, therefore, it’s really great for me to have these kind of options.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Lewis Dunk and Oliver Boscagli
