Danny Welbeck injury ‘very painful’ as Fabian Hurzeler details nerve issue

Danny Welbeck remains a doubt for Brighton’s Premier League clash with Wolves this weekend after suffering a ‘very painful’ back injury picked up in the win at Newcastle last time out.

The England international scored the only goal of the game at St James’ Park as he continued his impressie form this season.

The 33-year-old has scored five goals in just eight Premier League games so far this campaign, quickly establishing himself as a key player under new manager Fabian Hurzeler.

However, he was taken off at Newcastle and has been struggling with a back problem which has left him in serious discomfort.

The Seagulls host Wolves on Saturday afternoon and Hurzeler cannot yet confirm whether his striker will be available or not.

‘It’s still early to say if he can play or not, but he will train today and then we will see afterwards how the training session went and we will make a decision,’ the German told a press conference on Thursday.

‘Danny got hit on his nerve and then when you get hit on the nerve you don’t feel the leg for amount of time. It’s very painful and it’s still painful. We have to make a check today in the training session, make a lot of treatment for him.

‘Our physios are working every hour with him to make him fit for the game. This will be the challenge for us but hopefully everything will be good.’

The Athletic report that Yankuba Minteh also remains a doubt for the Wolves game due to a ‘minor muscle injury’ while Joao Pedro is still sidelined with his ongoing ankle problem.

The Brazilian was injured in a brief substitute appearance against Nottingham Forest on 22 September and there has been little update on when he will be back on the pitch.

‘I am not sure how long he will be out,’ the Brighton boss said of Pedro after Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White was shown a red card for the challenge on him.

‘It’s a little bit of an issue with his ankle. When you see this tackle, his ankle was fixed and it twisted a little bit. That is the thing that caused the issue and the most pain, the twisting of the ankle.’

Hurzeler told The Argus on Thursday: ‘With Joao we have to be a little bit more patient, but I think there will be a comeback soon. I can’t say the exact date of the comeback.’

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