Brighton & Hove Albion duo Georginio Rutter and Adam Webster will miss Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa due to injury and may not feature again this season.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that both players picked up injuries in the Seagulls’ FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Nottingham Forest on penalties on Sunday.
While Rutter was forced off in the 75th minute after awkwardly twisting his ankle, Webster battled through the closing stages of normal time before being replaced at the start of extra time with a muscle problem.
Rutter has played regularly for Brighton since his club-record £40m arrival last summer, scoring a joint team-high eight goals in 34 games across all competitions.
Webster, meanwhile, was absent for a couple of months at the end of last year with a thigh injury and has subsequently been reduced to 17 appearances in all tournaments this term, starting each of Brighton’s last five Premier League games.
However, Hurzeler may have to cope without both players for the remainder of this season as the German coach has revealed that the Seagulls duo are facing lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Rutter, Webster injuries “don’t look great”
Speaking about Rutter and Webster at a press conference on Tuesday, Hurzeler said: “Both injuries I can say don’t look great.
“We have to add them on our injury list. Georginio has an ankle injury and Adam has a muscle injury. It’s possible [that they will be out for the season].”
Hurzeler has also revealed that Ferdi Kadioglu will not make a first-team return any time soon and continues to recover from a grade three toe capsule ligament tear which has kept him sidelined since November last year.
“The light [at the end of the tunnel] doesn’t get lighter, the light is still the same,” Hurzeler said on the Turkey international who joined Brighton last summer for around £25m.
Tariq Lamptey (foot), James Milner, Igor Julio (both hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder) and Joel Veltman (foot) also remain sidelined with injuries.
However, Hurzeler was able to provide a positive update on Solly March (unspecified) and Mats Wieffer (muscle) and has confirmed that both players “could be an option” against Villa.
Hurzeler: “I will never complain about the injuries”
Sharing his thoughts on how injuries can present opportunities for others in his Brighton squad, Hurzeler said: “We see more an opportunity and a chance because we always were able to replace the players who were injured.
“It’s another chance for Brajan Gruda, another chance for Matt O’Riley, another chance for Eiran Cashin. Lewis Dunk is coming back, so I see it more as an opportunity.
“I will never complain about the injuries. Georgi and Adam were in a great shape, but that’s football. We have to deal with it. We have had to deal with the injuries this season.
“We are always a team who were able to replace the injured players and now other players have the chance to step in.
“That’s why I’m really looking forward to it – the players who have the possibility now and the chance to start the game or to replace the injured players. They can show their potential and therefore we try to help them, that they can get integrated as quickly as possible.”
Brighton, one of several Premier League teams seeking to qualify for next season’s Champions League, currently sit seventh in the table, just two points behind Chelsea in fourth and two points above Wednesday’s opponents Aston Villa in ninth.
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