Uh-oh. In delivering the team news ahead of Brighton taking on Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Fabian Hurzeler uttered the dreaded words – small injury James Milner.
It became a running joke through the 2024-25 season that whenever Hurzeler spoke about Milner, The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History would describe the veteran midfielder as having a small or minor injury that he would soon return from.
Milner picked up the problem away against Arsenal at the end of August. September passed and he did not return. October passed and he did not return.
November passed and he did not return. December passed and he did not return. January passed and he did not return. February passed and he did not return. March passed and he did not return. April passed and he did not return.
Only on the final day of the campaign when Brighton won 4-1 at Spurs was Milner seen in an Albion shirt again.
Nine months out. There were women in the world who were impregnated, went through a full-term pregnancy and gave birth in the same timeframe Milner was ruled out with his minor problem.
What injury does James Milner have?
Brighton have remained coy on the latest injury to befall Milner. Hurzeler only said it was a small issue and that Milner is getting close to a return.
Given the experience of last season, words to be taken with not so much a pinch of salt as an entire mine of the stuff.
The presence of Milner in midfield has been key to the Albion’s turnaround in form so his absence against Spurs comes as a big blow.
Brighton have been much harder to play through since Hurzeler deployed the experience of Milner and Pascal Gross in front of the back four.
Becoming more difficult to break down has helped provide a platform to go on and win matches and stopped the Albion conceding late goals.
Having said that, Brighton still managed to dig in and secure a battling 2-0 win against Burnley without Milner last weekend.
Yasin Ayari partnered Gross at Turf Moor. The duo did a fine job protecting the back four whilst Gross also managed to weigh in with an assist for the first of two Mats Wieffer goals.
Hurzeler therefore has little reason to change from Yasin Ayari and Gross in the middle.
Other Spurs v Brighton team news
There were no other injury concerns reported by Hurzeler in his Friday press conference. One confirmed piece of team news is Brighton captain Lewis Dunk misses the trip to Spurs as he completes a two game ban for accumulating 10 yellow cards.
Interestingly, Hurzeler said he has a decision to make over who starts on the left wing between Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh.
Mitoma had to settle for a place on the bench against Burnley. Minteh has been so good since taking over from the injured Mitoma in the 1-0 win at Sunderland that the Japanese winger has been unable to wrestle back his starting spot.
Hurzeler revealed Mitoma is under consideration but that he could make an equally important contribution as an impact substitute.
“We know Mitoma can change a game but Minteh has been showing some really good performances,” Hurzeler said.
It would be incredibly harsh on Minteh if he were dropped. Meaning it is probably safe to assume Brighton will be unchanged from the side who beat the Clarets.
Join the new WAB WhatsApp Channel
Join our new WAB WhatsApp Channel to receive the latest Brighton news and opinion straight to your phone. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started.
Once joined, unmute the channel in the top right to receive notifications. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from WAB.
About the Author
