BRIGHTON star Mats Wieffer has been ruled out for up to four matches after suffering a bizarre knee injury when he was SMACKED in the face by the ball.
The versatile midfielder-turned-right-back picked up the unusual injury during Brighton‘s 4-3 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday.
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Wieffer, 26, was struck in the face by the ball before his legs ended up in an awkward position, leaving him with a knee problem.
And Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler admitted it was one of the strangest injuries he has seen.
He said: “We expect Mats to be out until the international break.
“It’s a very unlucky one.
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“I can explain it quite easily, because I like boxing and sometimes in boxing when somebody gets a hit, a knockout, you see how weak the legs go and the legs get in very strange positions.
“It might happen that your knee gets injured or your ankle gets twisted.
“It was a similar situation with Mats where he was hit in the face by the ball.
“He had control of his body, then his legs got in a strange position and therefore this injury happens.”
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Hurzeler revealed Wieffer was initially more concerned about his head than his knee.
He added: “Luckily it isn’t a bad one, but how it happened is very unlucky.
“Not a normal injury, something to do with the knee.
“He held his head, stood up and felt his knee, that is how the players explained it to me.
“It was a strange and unlucky one.”
Wieffer was eventually substituted in the 80th minute at Stamford Bridge.
The Dutchman has already endured injury problems during his Brighton career, missing eight Premier League matches between December and February last season with a toe injury.
But his latest setback comes at a particularly awkward time, with Brighton facing a packed schedule before the next international break.
Hurzeler’s side host Leeds on Saturday before travelling to Coventry on September 13.
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They then face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round of the Carabao Cup on September 16 before hosting Arsenal three days later.
The international break then begins, with Brighton not returning to action until their trip to Sunderland on October 10.
There was some better news for Hurzeler, with midfielder Yasin Ayari and striker Georginio Rutter potentially available against Leeds after missing the Chelsea defeat with minor injuries.
New signing Chema Andres is also in contention to make his Brighton debut after arriving from Stuttgart in the final hours of Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
However, fellow new arrival Femi Azeez is unavailable for the Leeds clash after arriving from Millwall carrying a slight injury.
Austrian defender Michael Svoboda has also returned to training following a minor knee problem.
Wieffer’s absence is not quite the blow it might have been before Brighton’s summer transfer business.
Hurzeler converted the defensive midfielder into a right-back towards the end of his first season in charge in 2024-25.
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And Brighton have since strengthened their options in that position following Joel Veltman’s move to West Ham, with Costinha arriving from Olympiacos and Jaouen Hadjam joining from Young Boys.
Wieffer could also have been considered for the No.6 role following Carlos Baleba‘s move to Manchester United.
But Brighton moved quickly to fill that gap by signing Andres from Stuttgart on deadline day.
The bigger concern for Hurzeler is the growing injury list at the start of the new campaign.
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Wieffer has joined Jack Hinshelwood and Liverpool target Yankuba Minteh on the sidelines for several weeks.
Brighton are also without Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson, who have all suffered injuries at different stages stretching back to last season.