Brighton v Southampton team news as 3 return but 6 ruled-out

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler revealed mixed news on the injury front as Brighton welcome struggling Southampton to the Amex Stadium on Friday night.

The good news is skipper Lewis Dunk returns following his five-match absence with calf injury and flying winger Yankuba Minteh is also available following a muscular injury and illness.

Full back Tariq Lamptey, who has seen just 10 minutes of Premier League action this term, is also expected to be in the matchday squad following his recent calf injury.

There was however cause for concern as Jack Hinshelwood remains side-lined with a knee he sustained in the 2-1 win against Manchester City. The midfielder missed last weekend's victory at Bournemouth and tomorrow's match against Southampton will arrive too soon.

"I would not say the issue is more serious but he needs more time," Hurzeler told Sussex World. "He will not be an option for Southampton but I'm sure he will be back soon so the issue is not that big."

Turkey international Ferdi Kadioglu is expected to miss out with his toe injury and defender Adam Webster is still recovering from his hamstring injury picked up against Tottenham last October. James Milner (hamstring) and Solly March (knee) remain out.

Midfielder Carlos Baleba is suspended following his two yellow cards at Bournemouth last week.

"He didn't make a mistake with the second yellow card," Hurzeler added. “It's not a second yellow card. On the other side, I also reflect myself – maybe I have to react earlier.

"Maybe I have to say, ‘all right, he's still a young player. We need to protect him. We need to take him out of the game to make sure that he's available for the next game.’

"So it's also learning from my side what is very important. But in the end it was a false decision and false decisions happen in life. So we have to accept it and we have to keep going."