Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has provided an update on Joao Pedro ahead of the Seagulls’ match against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend.
Speaking to the media, Hurzeler discussed the progress of key players who have been missing in recent weeks including Brajan Gruda, Matt O’Riley, and James Milner.
“There are players in the squad that are continuing their rehab,” Hurzeler said.
“[Brajan] Gruda will be returning to team training in the next few days. Matt O’Riley is in very good shape and is doing gym work.
“James Milner is also doing really good, so I’m happy that all the players are working really hard for their comeback and I’m hoping they’ll be back soon.”
Gruda’s return to team training will be a welcome boost for Brighton, while O’Riley and Milner’s progress in the gym suggests that the Seagulls may soon have a much healthier squad to choose from, although they have been coping just fine without them in 2024-25 so far.
Pedro problems
🔵⚪ @OfficialBHAFC head coach Fabian Hurzeler on Joao Pedro’s fitness 💬
“He made a training session today, we don’t want to take any risks. Let’s see how the next days will be”
248,319 #FPL managers have already transferred out the Brazilian forward ahead of Gameweek 5… pic.twitter.com/5GK28OBkvY
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) September 19, 2024
Hurzeler also took the opportunity to address Brighton’s struggles in front of goal after drawing 0-0 against Ipswich last week.
While it might be tempting to attribute the lack of bite in the final third to Pedro’s absence, Hurzeler was quick to downplay things.
He said: “It will be easy as a coach to say we missed him and that if Joao Pedro was playing against Ipswich we would have won.
“But for me, in my philosophy, it’s important to create chances. On top of that, every player wants to score and they don’t want to miss on purpose.”
“My solution is that we need to create some chances, attack the box with more players and change our attitude. We missed a step in not creating more chances against Ipswich, and we’re trying to work on that.
Brighton have enjoyed a strong start to the season and with Pedro set to return and the team fans can remain optimistic about their chances of having a very good first season under the young head coach.
