Brighton and Hove Albion will be boosted by the return of Billy Gilmour for the Premier League game at Bournemouth tomorrow (Sunday 28 April).
But Jan Paul van Hecke has joined the club’s long injury list.
Scotland midfielder Gilmour has been out for the past month after returning from the last international break with a knee injury.
The 22-year-old’s availability for Albion’s final five matches of the season is also positive news for his country, with Euro 2024 on the horizon.
Defender Van Hecke, who has a hamstring problem, joins Tariq Lamptey, Pervis Estupinan, Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March and Evan Ferguson on the sidelines.
Asked if any players will return at the Vitality Stadium, Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi replied: “Billy Gilmour.
“But we lost JP van Hecke, I don’t know how much time, how many games, but he can’t play.”
Gilmour has been a key performer for Brighton this season after the sale of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea.
His absence has coincided with Albion’s current five-match winless run which has severely dented the club’s quest to qualify for Europe for a second successive season.
The Seagulls travel along the south coast having slipped into the bottom half of the table and with their overall record reading won 11, drawn 11 and lost 11 on the back of Thursday’s 4-0 thrashing by Manchester City.
De Zerbi, whose team face five higher-placed clubs in the run-in, feels persistent injury issues and too many draws have proved costly this term.
He said: “We have the chance to fight to reach the highest position we can.
“We’ve had too many draws, for sure. I think we could win more games. We draw a lot of games shooting a lot of times on goal, especially a lot of games at home.
“But now we have to be focused, to move on and to look forward to prepare the next games.
“It’s a tough period but we can compete better. There are 15 points to make and at the end we can analyse the season.
“At the beginning (of the season), I thought we could compete in a different way.”
Yet De Zerbi, who revealed left-back Estupinan could be out until October with his calf injury, believes the struggles endured this campaign could prove beneficial moving forward.
“You can improve winning games and reaching the Europa League but you can progress spending a tough season, like this part of the season,” he said.
“I don’t love crying and speaking too much about the injured players. But we are playing without too many important players.”
De Zerbi is considering handing further opportunities to 19-year-old Irish forward Mark O’Mahony and 21-year-old defender Odeluga Offiah in Dorset.
He said: “They have a chance to show their quality because after five games we have to build the new squad – and maybe they can be inside, depending on their performances.
“Mark O’Mahony, I think, can become the new Evan Ferguson.
“Maybe Evan has a different shot (better at finishing) but Mark is better in terms of ball possession, he understands better the play. We will see – I want to give them the chance to play.
“We need fresh energy in this moment, maybe we can pay something in experience, because I don’t change the style of the team.”
