Brighton starlet Tzimas ruled out until 2026 with season-ending injury | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion striker Stefanos Tzimas has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.

The 19-year-old sustained the injury during his first Premier League start in the 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa on December 3.

He twisted his knee while closing down Pau Torres and required treatment before eventually limping off after 24 minutes.

Subsequent assessments have confirmed the severity of the injury, and surgery will keep Tzimas sidelined until pre-season in 2026.

The teenager was beginning to make progress at senior level after joining from Nurnberg for £20 million last summer.

Tzimas had scored his first Premier League goal just three days earlier, coming off the bench to seal Brighton’s 2-0 win away to Nottingham Forest.

He also scored twice in a 6-0 League Cup victory at Oxford United as part of a run that had begun to justify his fast-tracked involvement under Hurzeler.

While his enforced absence removes a developing option from Brighton’s attacking line, it does not automatically affect Evan Ferguson’s future, who is on a season-long loan at Roma.

Ferguson has endured a challenging campaign in Italy, scoring once in 14 matches in all competitions and struggling to secure a consistent run in the team.

Roma faced Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday, and manager Gian Piero Gasperini discussed Ferguson’s situation with Italian media ahead of the fixture.

He said the striker has been given opportunities and stressed that selection depends on performance rather than potential.

Brighton will now begin preparing for the remainder of the campaign without Tzimas, whose long-term recovery will run deep into next season’s build-up.