Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed Ansu Fati and Tariq Lamptey will be unavailable “for a long time” through injury.
Fati’s parent club Barcelona fear that the player faces a two and a half month layoff, but no timeframe has been put on his absence by Brighton — where he is on a season-long loan deal.
Brighton lost both players to injuries in the first half of their Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, adding to an extensive absentee list for the club.
Each player was starting just their second league match of the campaign, with Fati on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona while Lamptey has struggled with multiple muscular injuries in recent seasons.
“Igor (Julio) can play. Ansu (Fati) and (Tariq) Lamptey are both injured,” De Zerbi said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“We have lost them for a long time I think. But the focus is on the players who can play tomorrow. We will have to compete.
“I don’t know if we will win, but we will fight to win the game for sure.”
The Brighton boss had previously only confirmed that the duo would miss Thursday’s trip to AEK Athens in the Europa League, but it now appears likely both players will be unavailable for a significant period of time.
Having made his Barcelona debut aged 16, Fati suffered from various injury setbacks; tearing the meniscus in his left knee in November 2020 which kept him out of action for just shy of 11 months before later suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined the forward for three months.
Fati has featured in nine Premier League games for De Zerbi’s side this campaign but only two of those had come as a starter as he found himself behind Evan Ferguson, Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck in the pecking order.
Fati and Lamptey (pictured) were both injured against Nottingham Forest (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Lamptey, 23, has struggled with multiple injury setbacks in recent seasons and has made just 39 Premier League starts since his January 2020 transfer from Chelsea, of which just three came last season.
The injury setbacks add to an extensive absentee list for De Zerbi, who is currently without defenders Adam Webster, Igor Julio and Pervis Estupinan, along with the versatile duo Solly March and James Milner, and forwards Welbeck, Julio Enciso and Kaoru Mitoma.
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud are also suspended for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.
GO DEEPER
March and Welbeck out for ‘a long time’
(Photo: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)