Injury expert: Dunk’s injury at Brighton could be ‘worse than feared’
Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk could be sidelined beyond January if his injury rehab does not go to plan.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Dunk has not featured since suffering knee ligament damage in the Seagulls’ 1-1 draw with West Ham on 1 December.
As quoted by BBC Sport on Monday (13 December), manager Graham Potter revealed: “We won’t have Lewis Dunk available until January.”
Potter has previously stated that the 30-year-old centre-back will not require surgery for his knee troubles.
Dinnery claims that there is still a possibility that Dunk could be out for even longer than his manager has suggested.
“Any injury, regardless of how minor or severe, always has the potential to extend,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“It is a science, but it’s not an exact science. There are so many influencing factors that can impact a player’s return to play.
“When players are out from four weeks onwards, there are so many things that can disrupt that. So there’s always a chance it can be worse than feared.
“But he doesn’t tend to suffer a lot of injuries and that is reflected in his availability record.
“When he has suffered a problem, inherently, he is back sooner than initially envisaged. He is a very robust and tough character.
“There is hope that he will be back potentially after the winter break. That gives him plenty of downtime to get back for the second half of the season.“
Dunk, who has featured 14 times in the Premier League this term, is one of eight players either injured or suspended at Brighton.
A further four have contracted Covid amid a spate of cases across the top-flight.
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