Nottingham Forest v Brighton early injury and team news as 7 out and 3 doubts

The Seagulls are hoping to bounce back from their disappointing home defeat to Everton last week. Forest also were on the losing side of a result last Saturday, suffering a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Bournemouth.

Depsite losing by such a margin, Forest remain in third and only two points off of Arsenal, with a four point gap over Newcastle United who are chasing them for a Champions League place. As for Brighton, they're ninth, and all a win would do for them this weekend is move them above Aston Villa should they drop points.

Both managers will have their pre-match press conferences later in the week, but it’s a good idea to see how the two squads are shaping up ahead of the clash in the East Midlands. Here’s the latest injury news from both camps.

Brighton & Hove Albion team news

Pervis Estupinan wasn't named in the squad against Everton last week. Up until that point, he had only missed one of their last 20 league games. It was revealed that a muscle issue had prevented him from playing against the Toffees.

Solly March has been a long-term absentee but recently made a return to action. He's still working his way back to full fitness following a serious knee injury which kept him out for almost two-years. March too has a muscle problem but it isn’t expected to keep him out for a while.

One player who won't play again for Brighton this season is Igor Julio. The centre-back is out with a hamstring injury and had surgery earlier this month.

Another player to require treatment was Jason Steele who suffered a shoulder injury. Carl Rushworth was recalled from his loan at Hull City to provide cover Bart Verbruggen whilst Steele is sidelined.

It was reported by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano that Evan Ferguson is expected to leave the club on loan this week. A move has yet to be finalised with his destination unknown, but he's been unavailable to the manager because of an ankle problem.

James Milner (hamstring), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), and Mats Wieffer (knee) are Brighton's other injury concerns. Milner hasn’t played since August, Kadioglu has been out since November, and Wiffer picked up his injury just before Christmas.

Out: Igor Julio, Jason Steele, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Mats Wiffer, Evan Ferguson. Doubt: Solly March and Pervis Estupinan.

Nottingham Forest team news

Callum Hudson-Odoi was forced off with a groin problem against Southampton. He will be assessed this week, but Nuno Espirito Santo is uncertan whether he will have recovered in time to be available.

“He was not available for today. We still have to assess for the next one,” Espirito Santo said to Nottinghamshire Live.

“We cannot be sure that he is going to be available. He has pain in his adductor. It has been really stiff.

“The medical department tried everything they could but for today it was impossible. Let’s see for the next one.”

Another player injured for the hosts is Ibrahim Sangare. The 27-year-old has been limited to three league appearances this term, all of which came in August.

The Ivory Coast international had to go under the knife for a hamstring problem which has sidelined him for the last few months. The last update was that he was 'back out on the grass' and working towards a return. He could come back in to contention in the middle of February.

“It is good to see Ibrahim working on the grass as well, even if he is still working on his own," said Santo.

"It will be a big boost for us to have him back as well. But it will take a while. We need to integrate him back into the group; we need to get him ready."

Out: Ibrahim Sangarde. Doubt: Callum Hudson-Odoi.