02 December 2021

Brighton hit by triple injury blow

02 December 2021

Brighton boss Graham Potter is counting the cost of Wednesday night’s dramatic 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Neal Maupay’s last-minute overhead kick may have earned the Seagulls a valuable point, but they lost three players to injury who will now miss Saturday’s trip to Southampton.

Teenage winger Jeremy Sarmiento was handed a full Premier League debut but it lasted just 13 minutes before he hobbled off with a hamstring injury.

Defender Adam Webster was another first-half casualty after suffering a calf problem which forced him off.

And the Seagulls finished with 10 men after Potter had used all of his substitutes, with Adam Lallana limping off with a leg injury which means he will miss out against his old club.

“There’s no good news, but no bad news either,” said Potter. “It’s still early days in terms of assessing everything.

“There’s nothing to report, other than all those three will not be available at the weekend. But as for the extent of the injuries, I haven’t got that information yet.”

Maupay’s wonder-strike, which cancelled out a first-half header from Tomas Soucek, ended a seven-match goal-scoring drought for the French frontman.

The 25-year-old was the main target of the Brighton boo boys after missing chances in the goalless draw with Leeds last weekend, but he retained the backing of his manager.

Potter added: “The challenge of this league, especially when you are playing as a forward, is that you can go games without scoring. It can happen.

“I could name other players of a far higher profile than Neal who are going without goals. It’s the nature of the competition and how you deal with it as a human being.

“It’s the process you have to go through to develop, to become a better player and a better person, and that’s something we’re helping him with.”

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