Roberto De Zerbi was due to serve a touchline ban for Brighton’s clash vs Spurs (Getty)
Roberto De Zerbi will miss Brighton’s Premier League clash against Tottenham on Saturday after undergoing dental surgery in Italy.
The 44-year-old was due to serve a touchline ban after he was shown a third yellow of the season during Brighton’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace last weekend.
However, De Zerbi will not be at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon as he continues his recovery from what has been described as ‘very invasive dental surgery’.
‘Roberto is not happy,’ Brighton first-team coach Andrea Maldera said.
‘I spoke with him yesterday morning, he wants to stay with the team. He isn’t here physically but he is with his personality.
Brighton assistant coach Andrea Maldera will be in the dugout against Spurs (Getty)
‘The players have a big responsibility. We hope today they play for him.’
It’s understood that De Zerbi will be watching the game live and will have contact with his coaching staff.
TOTTENHAM VS BRIGHTON TEAM NEWS
TOTTENHAM: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski, Richarlison, Werner
SUBS: Forster, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Son, Bissouma, Emerson, Johnson, Davies
BRIGHTON: Steele, Lamptey, Dunk, Gilmour, Gross, Lallana, Welbeck, Mitoma, van Hecke, Estupinan, Buonanotte.
SUBS: Verbruggen, Webster, Moder, Baleba, Ferguson, Fati, Veltman, Baker-Boaitey, O’Mahony.
De Zerbi has made five changes to the team that beat Crystal Palace last weekend.
Bart Verbruggen, Igor Julio, Jack Hinshelwood, Joao Pedro and Evan Ferguson drop out of the starting 11 and have been replaced by Jason Steele, Adam Lallana, Danny Welbeck, Pervis Estupinan and Kaoru Mitoma, who has returned to Brighton following Japan’s elimination from the Asian Cup last weekend.
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