Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler expects Stefanos Tzimas to be out for the “long term” with a knee injury.
The 19-year-old Greek forward was forced off during the first half of the 4-3 home defeat by Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
While the full extent of his injury is still to be determined, Hurzeler anticipates there will be “months” of recovery ahead for Tzimas, who scored his first Premier League goal in the win at Nottingham Forest.
“I don’t have great news. Stefanos we have to further assess him, but at the moment, it looks like a long-term injury,” Hurzeler said at a press conference on Friday morning.
“So another long-term injury for us this season. (We are) not quite lucky with them, but we will find solutions, and we wish Stefanos a quick recovery and all the best. I would say months (on how long he will be out).”
Brighton could have midfielder Yasin Ayari available again for Sunday’s trip to West Ham, while Kaoru Mitoma is closing in on a return from his foot problem.
“He (Mitoma) had his comeback to our training sessions, he had a small setback during the training session, not a big one,” Hurzeler said.
“Hopefully, he can train today and then for sure we try to make him as quick as possible an option for us.”
