Stefanos Tzimas close to return to first-team training

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

The striker has been out since December with a knee injury.

Bruce Talbot

2026-10-31T06:00+00:00

Some good news for Stefanos Tzimas, who could return to first-team training next week.

Stefanos Tzimas has stepped up his comeback after ten months out with an serious knee injury injury.

The 20-year-old Greek forward was starting to establish himself in the first-team squad when he suffered the injury against Aston Villa in December.

But head coach Fabian Hurzeler hopes he can train fully next week.

“At the moment, he trains with the under-21s, so we have to be really patient,” said Hurzeler.

“We are going step-by-step and hopefully next week he will be in our training squad. Since we are away at the moment it makes no sense to bring him to Manchester this week.

“He needs training time, which is why he's not with us right now.”

Albion have based themselves in Manchester since Tuesday with back-to-back games against City part of a run of five successive away matches which concludes in Getafe, Spain on Thursday on matchday 3 of the UEFA Conference League.

“There are always pros and cons to staying away, but you have to see the wider picture,” said Hurzeler.

“We have five away games on the road. We travelled to Jablonec, travelled back, travelled to Liverpool, travelled back.

“When you travel too much, you lose a lot of energy. Of course, we want to give the players as much time as possible with their families because that's important, but we also try to be a family for the players.

“We stick together in these moments. It's a big pro that the players can connect with each other and aren't alone in their apartments, as not every player has family around in Brighton.

“They can speak to each other, analyse the game and we can speak with them. We try to make the best of it and focus on the connection on and off the pitch.”