Brighton & Hove Albion will be without Evan Ferguson and Joel Veltman for their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United next weekend, Seagulls manager Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed.
The pair were forced off in the first half of their 2-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday, with Ferguson suffering what looked to be a serious ankle injury shortly after Veltman pulled up with a hamstring issue.
Goals from their replacements - Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso - turned the tide at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea took an early lead. De Zerbi's men go into next weekend's semi-final with momentum but he admitted after the final whistle injuries are mounting up.
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“We are losing too many players," the Brighton boss said. "We are playing without (Adam) Lallana, (Jeremy) Sarmiento, (Tariq) Lamptey, now today Veltman and Ferguson. It’s difficult. Ferguson and Veltman can’t play for a minimum couple of weeks.”
Despite the injuries, a win at Stamford Bridge in a game which they dominated, showed Brighton's quality. The south coast outfit have proved they can compete with a number of supposed 'bigger' teams this season and will hope to do so again at Wembley.
"It's an amazing day for us," De Zerbi said of the win. "The result, the performance. This game gives more energy, more confidence, more enthusiasm to finish the season in the best way. Now we have to prepare for the semi-final. We'd like to play the final. To do that we'll have to win.
"We are a serious team with serious players. Nothing changes. We work a normal week. We would like to make our fans happy."
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