Brighton star to miss Fulham clash – Fabian Hurzeler reveals his £25m replacement is ready
All the latest team news for Brighton ahead of the Premier League clash against Fulham
Brighton and Hove Albion will be without flying full-back Tariq Lamptey for Saturday's Premier League clash against Fulham.
Lamptey will serve his one-match suspension following his dismissal in last weekend's FA Cup fifth-round victory at Newcastle.
The former Chelsea full-back – who is out of contract this summer – has been a key man for the Seagulls of late and has featured at left back and right due to injuries to Pervis Estupinan and Joel Veltman.
Estupinan has since recovered from a muscular injury and is set to resume at left back but Veltman – who this week triggered an option in his contract for an extra year – is struggling with a foot injury.
Midfielder Jack Hinshelwood can play at full-back but Hurzeler also revealed Mats Wieffer – a £25m summer signing from Feyenoord – can also play the full-back position. Wieffer, recently back from a knee injury, slotted in at full-back for the final stages of the win at Newcastle.
"We have different options," Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler in the pre-Fulham press conference.
"We played with Mats Wieffer the last time, we played two weeks before with Jack Hinshelwood, so we have several options.
"Of course, Tee wasn't in great shape, but I'm sure we have two or three really good replacements.
"[They all have] different profiles, so it will be a different style of play for how they fulfil their positions. But I'm sure they will do it in a good way."
The Seagulls have been on an impressive run since their 7-0 thrashing at Nottingham Forest on February 1.
The extra-time victory in the FA Cup at Newcastle last weekend was a fifth straight win in all competitions.
Brighton host Fulham, who are also in good form, on Saturday when another three points would lift them into the top six as the battle for European qualification intensifies.
German coach Hurzeler is aware of how much progress has already been made in his first season at the south-coast club but has his sights firmly on their next challenge.
“It is very important we focus on our journey and that we really believe in it,” Hurzeler told a press conference.
“Yesterday I received a picture from a mountain. In a mountain, you always have new peaks, new peaks you have to climb. That is the goal for us, we have to climb new peaks.
“We have to do it as a person and as a group. That is the main thing for tomorrow because Fulham will be a big, big challenge.
“They have played an unbelievable season, they play very compact as a team and have individual quality.
“We have to raise our standards, be better than we were in the last weeks because if you think it will continue like this just by saying it will, you think wrong.
“We have to climb and lift our peaks and try to get to the next level.”
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