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Brighton suffer major injury blow ahead of Aston Villa season opener

· John Townley · 2026-08-09 · nguồn gốc

Brighton have suffered a fresh injury concern ahead of their Premier League opener against Aston Villa in two weeks’ time. Winger Yankuba Minteh limped off during their friendly against AS Roma and will now undergo a scan. While Fabian Hurzeler said he is staying positive over the injury, Minteh appeared to be in considerable pain after going down for a second time, having initially tried to play on after falling in an awkward tangle with Bryan Cristante. Head coach Hurzeler said: “Of course, it’s not a great sign if a player has to go off because of pain, but we have to wait for the scan. “In general, I'm a positive person, so let's stay positive and wait for the scan.” Minteh is now considered a doubt for the start of the season, which would be a huge blow for the Seagulls, with fellow winger Kaoru Mitoma remaining sidelined with a hamstring issue. Midfielder Carlos Baleba is also struggling with an ankle ligament injury and is a major doubt to feature in the season opener against Villa. Villa, meanwhile, could be without Johan Manzambi due to injury, with the club-record signing continuing to recover from a knee issue. John McGinn, meanwhile, is expected to be fit to face Brighton after scan results on his knee came back clear following a scare in the friendly against BG Pathum earlier this week.