Brighton & Hove Albion are boosted by the return to contention of Kaoru Mitoma for Saturday’s away game at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Japan international left-winger, 27, has not started any of the last four matches due to heel and back issues.
Mitoma came off the bench to score in a 4-2 defeat at Brentford and a 3-2 home win over West Ham between missing matches against Leicester (2-2) and Newcastle on Sunday (1-1) at the Amex Stadium.
Fabian Hurzeler said during his press conference on Friday morning: “Kaoru is back on the pitch. He trained with the team. He will be an option for tomorrow.”
Mitoma’s solo effort in a 4-1 win against Wolves at Molineux in the first month of the 2023-24 campaign was voted Brighton’s goal of the season. He won the award again this season for his goal in a 3-0 home win against Chelsea in February, when he controlled and finished a long pass from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Solly March will miss the remaining three games because of a knee injury which sidelined the long-serving utility player for 14 months from October 2023 to December 2024.
“It’s not a new injury,” Hurzeler said. “You have to repair something, clean something in the knee.”
Joao Pedro completes a three-match ban for his red card at Brentford. The Brazilian forward will be available for the final two games at home to Liverpool and away to Tottenham. Georginio Rutter, out with an ankle injury since March, could also play a part before the end of the campaign.
Tenth-placed Brighton are competing with Bournemouth, Brentford and Fulham to finish eighth, which could be enough for a spot in the Europa Conference League.
(Steve Bardens/Getty Images)