Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler is hopeful the injury sustained by new signing Matt O’Riley isn’t as severe “as it looks” but confirmed that the midfielder “couldn’t put any weight on his ankle.”
O’Riley, 23, was making his debut for Brighton after completing a £25million move from Celtic on Monday. However, his time on the field was cut short just nine minutes in after a late tackle by Jay Williams in the sixth minute caught him on the left ankle.
Following lengthy treatment on the field, O’Riley had to be assisted by two physios as he limped off. Although Williams wasn’t booked for the challenge on O’Riley, he received a yellow card later in the match for a different incident.
Hurzeler indicated that further assessments are needed to determine the full extent of O’Riley’s injury.
“I think after this foul the players could tackle like they want, because there was no yellow card. For me it was a clear red card,” Hurzeler said.
“You can’t tackle like this. You can be hard, you can be ruthless, but you can’t take the risk to injure a player. He (Williams) was much too late.
“I hope Matt is not as badly injured as it looks. We have to wait for the scan on his ankle. He said to me he could not put any weight on his ankle, so it’s not nice.”
GO DEEPER
Celtic, AC/DC and persuasive Postecoglou – watching Matt O’Riley with his parents
O’Riley was named as Celtic’s player of the year last season after registering 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions for the Scottish Premiership side. He joined Celtic from MK Dons in 2022, having come through the ranks at Fulham before joining the League One club.
Brighton continued their strong start to the season with a 4-0 victory over Crawley Town, securing their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The win extends their perfect start, making it three wins from three in all competitions, following Premier League triumphs over Everton and Manchester United earlier this month.
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
