Brighton’s Mats Wieffer sidelined by freak knee injury after ball struck his face | OneFootball

Brighton’s Mats Wieffer will miss the next four matches after a freak knee injury suffered in Sunday’s 4-3 defeat at Chelsea. According to NY Times, he was hit in the face by the ball, which led to the problem.

The incident occurred in the second half and he was replaced in the 80th minute.

Fabian Hurzeler likened it to a boxing knockout as legs gave way awkwardly. He called it an unfortunate, non-serious knee issue and expects Wieffer to be out until the international break.

Brighton host Leeds on Saturday, then visit Coventry on September 13, face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on September 16 and host Arsenal on September 19. The break runs to October 10, when they travel to Sunderland.

Yasin Ayari and Georginio Rutter could return against Leeds. Chema Andres is in contention, while Femi Azeez is not expected to feature until Coventry. Michael Svoboda is back in training after a minor knee issue.

Hurzeler shifted Wieffer to right-back late last season. Full-back depth rose after Joel Veltman’s move to West Ham with Costinha and Jaouen Hadjam arriving. Andres adds cover in defensive midfield after Carlos Baleba left for Manchester United.

Early season injuries add to longer-term absences for Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson. Wieffer, Jack Hinshelwood and Liverpool target Yankuba Minteh are out for weeks. Most are contact injuries rather than muscle problems.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”