Brighton and Hove Albion boss Graham Potter hopes that Tariq Lamptey will be fit to face his former club Chelsea having suffered an injury setback before the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Lamptey, who had a slight groin problem, was a surprise omission from the Seagulls’ starting line up for last night’s clash with the Eagles.
The England under-21 international managed a lively second-half cameo as a late Joachim Andersen own goal prevented Palace snatching victory.
The visitors went ahead courtesy of Conor Gallagher’s seventh strike of the season.
Wing-back Lamptey, who has been in red-hot form, only returned to Premier League action in October after a 10-month absence with a recurring hamstring injury.
Potter said that his long spell on the sidelines had been a reason for his cautious approach.
But Potter is optimistic that the 21-year-old will be available when Thomas Tuchel’s European champions visit the Amex on Tuesday (18 January).
Potter said: “Tariq was not ready to start. He had a tight abductor so he was not ready for 90 minutes.
“He is fine. He just missed a bit of training. Obviously with Tariq and what he has been through we went on the side of caution.
“He had a couple of days of training and with some time (against Palace) it would have done him some good. If there is no further problem, he will be ok for Chelsea.”
Brighton had mixed emotions last night after dominating possession and squandering several chances before managing to prevent a galling loss three minutes from time.
Pascal Gross saw a tame first-half penalty saved by Jack Butland, Neal Maupay had a goal ruled out and Leandro Trossard and Jakub Moder were each impressively denied by Palace’s in-form goalkeeper.
Poland midfielder Moder also struck the crossbar before the Seagulls were sucker-punched by on-loan Chelsea midfielder Gallagher scoring in the 69th minute with the visitors’ only attempt on target.
French forward Maupay, whose low cross forced Danish defender Andersen to divert the ball beyond Butland, hailed Brighton’s relentless spirit.
He said: “We never gave up. We’d have loved to win it for the fans but I think they saw that we gave everything
“Even when we are 1-0 or 2-0 down, we keep pushing and playing our game. I think it showed the strong mentality of the team.”
