Brighton confirm Mats Wieffer out until after international break

Brighton will be without Mats Wieffer for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Leeds United after Fabian Hürzeler confirmed the midfielder is not expected to return until after the international break. Wieffer suffered a knee injury during Brighton’s 4-3 defeat at Chelsea last weekend and has now joined an already significant list of absentees at the Amex. Hürzeler confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Friday that the Netherlands international will remain unavailable through the upcoming break, ruling him out of Brighton’s immediate fixtures. There could, however, be better news regarding Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari. Both players missed the defeat at Stamford Bridge with minor fitness problems but have made progress during the week. Hürzeler said Rutter and Ayari could be options against Leeds, although neither has yet been confirmed as available for the matchday squad. Brighton will also be without deadline-day signing Femi Azeez for the weekend fixture. The winger arrived from Millwall while recovering from an injury and is not yet ready to feature, with Hürzeler hopeful he could become available for the following game. The injury situation leaves Brighton short of several established first-team players. Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh, Jack Hinshelwood, Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas are also among those currently unavailable. Wieffer’s absence is the latest setback after he started Brighton’s opening two Premier League matches of the campaign. The immediate uncertainty now centres on Rutter and Ayari, whose potential returns would provide Hürzeler with additional options as Brighton look to respond to last weekend’s defeat. Both will continue to be assessed before the final squad is selected, while Wieffer’s return will have to wait until after the international break.