Brighton fear they could be without Ansu Fati for three months

Brighton fear they could be without Ansu Fati for three months with a hamstring injury.

Concerns have also been raised over the fitness of Tariq Lamptey but the Seagulls believe his issue is not as bad as first thought and could be back sooner than expected.

The pair were hurt during Saturday's win at Nottingham Forest and ahead of their game against AEK Athens on Thursday, Roberto de Zerbi confirmed the outlook is not good.

'We have lost them both for a long time but the focus is on the players who can play,' said De Zerbi, when asked ahead of a Europa League tie against AEK Athens on Thursday.

Fati is on loan for the season from Barcelona with Brighton understood to be paying his £200,000-a-week wages.

The 21-year-old was flickering into his best form in Brighton colours but this is a setback.

The winger has scored four goals across 17 appearances in all competitions for the south-coast side, notably scoring in both of their recent Europa League victories against Ajax.

The outlook for Lamptey, meanwhile, is slightly more promising after he has already missed multiple games this season through injury.

Following a month-long lay-off, he made his return to the pitch at the City Ground at the weekend, but left the field with an injury after 35 minutes.

Despite their absences, De Zerbi gave positive news over defender Igor Julio, who would return to the squad for Thursday's Europa League clash.

'The focus is on the players who can play tomorrow,' he said.

'We will have to compete. I don't know if we will win, but we will fight to win the game for sure.'