Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hürzeler said that Danny Welbeck is a doubtful for the visit of Sunderland to the Alex Stadium this afternoon (Saturday 20 December).
Hürzeler said that Welbeck had been restricted in training and had some “minor issues” with his back.
Welbeck came on as a sub last weekend in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool but not until the 82nd minute.
The head coach said: “It’s still restricted but Danny is doing sometimes incredible things so let’s see if he’s an option to start.
“The issue has not healed yet and he’s still restricted during training this week.”
Brighton are also without Diego Gomez and Lewis Dunk who are both suspended for the Premier League match against Sunderland – and Hürzeler admitted that the absence of captain Dunk was a blow.
He said: “Big miss, definitely, but we all know – and I emphasise it week for week – that we have a strong squad and we have other players who are able to replace him.
“A big miss but we also have big confidence in our players who will replace him.”
Sunderland are three points above Brighton in the table and Hurzeler has been impressed with their return to top-flight football.
He said: “Big signings, definitely. They made the squad very strong. They have a lot of maturity on the pitch and they understand how to win Premier League games.
“They have a strong togetherness. They fight together, sprint together, look very compact. High pressure, very man-orientated, and low pressure, very compact, difficult to score goals against them.
“And on top of that, they are good at set pieces, long throw-ins, free-kicks and good in transition so a big challenge for us.”
