Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler has spoken with Georginio Rutter about the reaction of his record signing to being substituted during Sunday’s 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
Rutter was visibly unhappy that he was taken off early in the second half following lengthy treatment after he had been struck in the face by the ball. Hurzeler confirmed after the match that replacing the Frenchman with Jack Hinshelwood in the 56th minute was not a concussion substitution.
“I don’t focus on these kind of things until after the game,” Hurzeler told The Athletic during his media briefing for Wednesday’s home match against Aston Villa. “We talk about this and then it’s always important to understand the view from the player, what he’s thinking at the moment, why he’s reacting like this.
“If you just went hard on a player, that’s an easy thing as a coach. But I think the most important thing is to listen to the player, get his view, get his perspective on this or that thing and then you have a much better understanding of how the player has reacted. For every reaction from a player, there’s a reason and it’s important to understand the reason.
“Then you can keep having a discussion about different things, but I like players who want to play, I like players who want to play for the club, give everything for the club. Georgi is a great lad and I hope he will be available tomorrow.”
Medical staff are monitoring the wellbeing of Rutter following the incident at Forest involving the £40million club record signing from Leeds United. “It was not a concussion, but of course you have to follow the procedure because we have to take care of the players’ health,” Hurzeler said.
Long-serving captain Lewis Dunk is set to make his 500th appearance for fifth-placed Brighton against Villa, who are fourth in the table. Hurzeler’s side have an opportunity to capitalise again on opponents facing a hectic domestic and European schedule, with Villa’s visit to the Amex Stadium their fourth game in 11 days.
Forest were playing their third match in nine days on Sunday, and rivals Crystal Palace their fourth game in 12 days when Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park in November.
“On the one side, they can be tired by playing so many games in a row,” Hurzeler said. “On the other side, you can argue that they always stay in the rhythm, they keep pushing and they can build mental and physical resilience in their body by playing that many games. You can see it in the availability from these kind of squads.
“Crystal Palace, for example, as well as Villa. I don’t see a lot of injuries in their squad and I think it comes back to building this resilience I’m talking about.”
