Brighton winger back in action after ten-week injury lay-off

Brighton & Hove Albion winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh played his first game for ten weeks when Iran drew 0-0 with Iraq in the Asian Cup this afternoon.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh in action for Brighton. Picture by PW Sporting PhotographyAlireza Jahanbakhsh in action for Brighton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography
Alireza Jahanbakhsh in action for Brighton. Picture by PW Sporting Photography

Jahanbakhsh was Albion's club record signing when he signed from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar for a reported £17m fee last summer.

He has made 11 appearances this season but had not played since the 3-1 defeat away to Everton at the beginning of November when he limped off with a hamstring injury late on.

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He joined up with Iran for the Asian Cup in December but missed their opening two games, the wins against Yemen (5-0) and Vietnam (2-0), as Iran qualified for the knock-out stages.

Jahanbakhsh started the match with Iraq, with the draw seeing Iran finish top of Group D.

The last 16 matches begin on Sunday and run until Tuesday.

If Iran get all the way to the final, Jahanbakhsh will miss Brighton's next four matches, against Manchester United, West Brom, Fulham and Watford.

Jahanbakhsh's Brighton team-mate Mathew Ryan helped Australia qualify for the last 16 yesterday, when they beat Syria 3-2. They will play Uzbekistan or Japan in the first knock-out stage.

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