'I hope it’s nothing bad' - Fabian Hurzeler explains Lewis Dunk absence and issues Pascal Struijk injury update
Fabian Hurzeler has provided an injury update on Lewis Dunk and Pascal Struijk, following Brighton and Hove Albion’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal.
Albion captain Dunk was absent from the squad, as the Seagulls marked their 125th anniversary by producing a dominant performance, against the defending Premier League champions, at the Amex Stadium.
Struijk was handed his first Premier League start for Brighton, in Dunk’s absence, and impressed for the Seagulls.
However, the former Leeds United defender appeared to suffer a hamstring problem during the second half, and was eventually replaced by Michael Svoboda.
Hurzeler confirmed after the match that Dunk had sustained a minor neck issue, during Brighton’s final training session before the game.
The Albion head coach said: “Lewis had a small issue yesterday in training with his neck. Nothing major.”
Hurzeler will also be hoping Struijk’s problem does not prove serious following an accomplished league debut for the club.
He added: “Pascal Struijk felt his hamstring a little bit. I hope it’s nothing bad, but we have to see.”
Brighton were already without several key players heading into the contest, making the defensive performance against Arsenal even more impressive.
Stefanos Tzimas, Yankuba Minteh, Jack Hinshelwood, Kaoru Mitoma, Mats Wieffer, Zadok Yohanna, Femi Azeez and Evan Ferguson remained unavailable, on Saturday (September 19).
Bart Verbruggen had little to do for much of the afternoon, although the goalkeeper produced an excellent second-half save to deny Kai Havertz.
The clean sheet particularly pleased Hurzeler, who said every member of his team had understood the importance of defending collectively against the champions.
He said: “For me, the most important point was the clean sheet.
“When you have the clean sheet, then we know that we are always able to score goals.
“Everyone had this mindset today: if I defend first and if we defend as a team, then we’re able to create chances also against Arsenal.”