Brighton manager Chris Hughton has confirmed he has suffered a double first team blow for the club’s clash with Everton on Saturday with Pascal Gross and Davy Propper both set to miss out.
The Seagulls have been missing both the attacking and defensive midfielders in recent weeks, with the German maestro having sat out the last six games and the Dutch enforcer the last two with their respective injury blows.
Speaking ahead of the visit to Goodison Park, Hughton revealed that the forward thinking Gross had suffered problems in his recovery, while Propper is close to making his comeback.
He told the Brighton and Hove Independent: “He (Gross) will miss Saturday. He’s close, he’s not back in training yet but is doing good rehab. He had a slight setback which is normal but it was very slight. It was more us taking precautions
“(Propper will) miss Saturday’s game but is close. I’d be very confident of both being available after the international break but Pascal has more chance of the Cardiff game.”
Opinion
This is bad news for Brighton who could really do with their top stars at Hughton’s disposal in their bid to wrestle themselves away from the relegation battle at the foot of the table. Gross is instrumental to their attacking threat when fit and firing and so having him miss out will give Everton a real boost as they look to keep the Seagulls at bay. The Toffees look to have turned a corner under Marco Silva and are a dangerous side when they play at their very best, and so Hughton will have to find a way to cope with what the home side have to throw at them without his missing stars. That is not going to be easy, but at the same time three 1-0 wins on the bounce suggests that they are a tough side to break down when they do stand firm at the back. It promises to be an intriguing battle between the two sides, and fans will be hoping those missing from action do not detract from the spectacle on Merseyside.