Huge Danny Welbeck injury blow for Brighton ahead of Norwich, Man City and Liverpool

Danny Welbeck injured his hamstring against Crystal Palace

Welbeck, 30, pulled up injured during the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last month and missed the stalemate with Arsenal just prior to the international break.

It’s a recurrence of the injury he originally sustained in the penultimate match of last season during the 3-2 win against Premier League Champions Manchester City.

“It is (the same injury),” said Albion head coach Graham Potter ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Norwich. “He then had an issue again in pre-season. And it was one of those things that we decided it (surgery) was the right action.”

It’s a huge blow for Welbeck and the team as the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker was just starting to show signs of form after a frustrating pre-season.

He scored in the 2-1 home win against Leicester and looked sharp in the early stages of the fierce encounter at Selhurst Park.

It’s now likely he and midfielder Steven Alzate – who injured his ankle in the same match at Palace –will be out until the new year.

“Similar (to Alzate, three months)” said Potter. “I wouldn’t want to be too specific but that’s not a bad ballpark to start with.

“It’s always difficult initially because the guys are close, they feel for Danny, they feel for Steven. But I guess similarly to how they felt with Tariq (Lamptey), Adam Webster and Solly March, unfortunately sometimes these things happen. We don’t want them to, but they do.

“We haven’t got another Danny Welbeck, we haven’t got another Steven Alzate, we didn’t have another Tariq Lamptey. But we managed to find, over time, another solution. That’s the job of the team. But clearly it’s disappointing for the guys that are missing.”

There is also some good news ahead of the trip to Carrow Road, where they will face a Daniel Farke team who are bottom of the league and still searching for their first win of the new campaign.

Defender Adam Webster is available for selection having recovered from his hamstring issue picked up at Brentford, while Yves Bissouma (knee) and Enock Mwepu (groin) have both trained this week.

Albion have enjoyed a fine start and are sixth with 14 points from seven matches.

Potter believes there’s huge room for improvement and expects a real tussle at Norwich. “We’ve only played seven games, so I’m not getting too carried away. We need to keep working with the team, keep fighting for each other,” said the head coach.