Major injury boost for Brighton ahead of Chelsea – 4 out and 1 doubt

Brighton are boosted by the return to fitness of £25m summer signing Brajan Gruda ahead of their trip to Chelsea this Saturday.

Gruda is yet to feature for the Seagulls having sustained an unspecified injury prior to his arrival from Mainz in August. The attacking midfielder has been working hard behind the scenes and could make his first appearance for Fabian Hurzeler’s unbeaten Brighton team at Stamford Bridge.

Gruda is a versatile performer and the Germany under-21 international can play a number of positions across the midfield and the attacking areas.

"With Brajan, he was out for five, six weeks,” said Hurzeler. “He will be back in the squad very soon, maybe already at the weekend. We will see how fast he gets reintegrated into the team, how fast he adapts to the intensity of the training. Then he might be an option for Saturday.”

Midfielder Yasin Ayari is also set to be available after missing last Sunday’s 2-2 home draw with Nottingham Forest due to illness.

Striker Joao Pedro is however out after the Brazilian sustained an ankle injury against Forest following a hefty challenge from Morgan Gibbs-White. James Milner is still recovering from a hamstring issue picked-up in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal and Matt O’Riley remains a long-term absentee as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Hurzeler also provided a positive update for Solly March, who has missed almost a year after his serious ACL injury sustained at Manchester City last season.

"With Solly, it's unbelievable how good he is adapting. We are all surprised in what shape he is in. He looks very sharp. Now we have to make the next decision. What is the next step for him?

"Maybe playing an under-21 game, but it is also important which under-21 game he's playing and what is the best for him. It’s also where he feels comfortable because he has to feel comfortable after this long injury, that he will make the next right step.”

The German boss, who has guided Brighton to seventh in the table from his first five Premier League matches, added: “It's important to make it step by step and not to do two or three steps in one time. I'm very happy with how he's doing. And I think he, he also feels very happy. He has a lot of energy and you also see that in the training, the impact he has on the team.”

Ruled out: James Milner (hamstring) Joao Pedro (ankle) Solly March (knee), Matt O’Riley (ankle). Slight doubt: Yasin Ayari (illness).