'Possibly' – Two season ending injury blows for Brighton as Fabian Hurzeler considers new plan for Aston Villa
Brighton vs Aston Villa Premier League team news
Brighton have suffered further injury blows ahead of Wednesday night’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
The Seagulls have suffered badly with injuries this season and £40m summer signing Georginio Rutter and defender Adam Webster have added to those concerns.
Rutter twisted his ankle in the turf during the first half of their FA Cup quarter-final penalty shootout loss to Nottingham Forest last Saturday, while Adam Webster pulled his hamstring and was replaced by skipper Lewis Dunk just before extra-time.
Both were swiftly ruled out for the Aston Villa match and head coach Fabian Hurzeler admitted “it’s possible” they will miss the rest of the season.
It’s a huge blow for the Seagulls as they push for European qualification with nine Premier League matches of the season remaining.
Albion are already without the likes of Igor Julio (hamstring), James Milner (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), Tariq Lamptey (foot), Joel Veltman (foot) and Ferdi Kadioglu (toe).
Despite the injuries, Hurzeler looks forward to the challenge of facing Aston Villa, who are pushing for the top four, into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
"They want to go to Europe, they're still in three competitions,” said Hurzeler. “Going for a title, so I think they play a great season and it's another chance for us, another opportunity.
"We have to play very mature, we have to play with big intensity, we have to play also in some moments like we can't play that soft, like we played in some moments against Nottingham.
“So we have to be more ruthless and that's what we have to improve in comparison with the game before. And then I'm sure that we have a big chance tomorrow.”
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