Brighton will again be without their joint top-scorer, Joao Pedro, for their final Premier League game of the season this weekend.
The Seagulls striker was left out of the 3-2 win over champions Liverpool on Monday, and won’t play against Tottenham either.
Pedro, who equals Danny Welbeck with 10 league goals this season, has been linked with a transfer to the Reds and Chelsea.
However, any chance of an early audition for the Brazilian was nixed by his removal from the matchday squad despite being fit.
Brighton boss Fabian Huerzeler has now confirmed that the 23-year-old won’t be involved in gameweek 38 against Spurs either.
Why is Pedro not playing against Tottenham?
The former Watford forward won’t be involved in north London this Sunday due to a training ground bust-up with Jan Paul van Hecke.
talkSPORT understands the incident actually took place over a week ago, showing how severe the ramifications were.
It’s said to have happened the week before a 2-0 away win over Wolves on May 10, at least ten days before the win over Liverpool.
Pedro missed that fixture due to a three-game suspension handed down for lashing out at Brentford’s Nathan Collins on April 19.
He was available to return against Arne Slot’s Premier League champions, but was instead sidelined and won’t play here either.
“With Joao we had a small issue in training, a type which isn’t uncommon from time to time in all football clubs,” Brighton boss Huerzeler said during his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“We dealt with it internally, and the matter is closed.”
Huerzeler continued: “Joao is an incredible football player. He is a match winner for us. That’s why we invested in him.
“But there are principles, there are values… they are non-negotiable.
“Joao is still a young player, and (there’s) still a lot of potential that he will grow.
“I’m sure he’ll learn from this and come back stronger next season.”
Pedro, 23, joined the Seagulls from Watford in 2023 for a then-club record £30million.
He’s their joint-top scorer this season in the Premier League with ten goals, and led the scoring overall last campaign with 20.
