Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler is optimistic of receiving several fitness boosts in time for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final clash with Nottingham Forest at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls will certainly be without Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Joel Veltman (ankle) and Ferdi Kadioglu (foot) for the weekend's game, in addition to Tariq Lamptey, who sustained a serious ankle problem earlier this month.
However, Hurzeler has expressed hope that all of Lewis Dunk (abdominal), Matt O'Riley (knee) and Solly March (unspecified) will be in contention to play, while Kaoru Mitoma should also be fine in spite of a minor concern.
Adam Webster may have to cede his spot in defence to a fit-again Dunk, who will also link arms with Jan Paul van Hecke, Pervis Estupinan and Bart Verbruggen at the back.
Jack Hinshelwood started in defence during the recent 2-2 stalemate with Manchester City and will likely stay there given Veltman's absence, so Carlos Baleba and Diego Gomez are primed to form the midfield partnership.
Fresh from scoring the winner against Newcastle United in a dramatic quarter-final, Danny Welbeck might have played his way into a start up front, as his physicality could come in handy against Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic.
Georginio Rutter may be the unfortunate soul sacrificed to make room for Welbeck, as Joao Pedro drops into a deeper role as part of the supporting cast alongside Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Gomez; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck
> Click here to see how Forest could line up for this quarter-final
Ben Knapton
