Chelsea suffer injury scare vs Brighton ahead of huge final game of Premier League season

Mykhailo Mudryk was substituted for Christopher Nkunku with a suspected concussion on Wednesday night against Brighton.

The Ukranian has become a regular in Mauricio Pochettino's side having played in every Premier League match for Chelsea since March. Mudryk has scored seven goals and provided two assists across all competitions for the Blues so far this season.

But the 23-year-old was taken off shortly before half-time after an off-the-ball incident involving Brighton's Tariq Lamptey. It appeared that Lamptey had caught the Chelsea winger in the face with his shoulder.

Mudryk tried to continue at the Amex but was taken off shortly before the interval in place of Nkunku. And the change is likely to have been a rarely-seen concussion substitution.

The rule was brought in on 6 February 2021 after the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) trial of additional permanent concussion substitutions (APCS). Each team is permitted to use a maximum of two concussion substitutions in a match.

It means that Mauricio Pochettino would have still been able to make the standard five substitutions on top of the one made to take Mudryk off.

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Chelsea's clash against Brighton has major ramifications in the race for the Premier League's European positions. However, fans in the UK are not able to watch it on television due to a broadcast rule centred around the fixture's original kick-off time.

The game between Chelsea and Brighton is a rearranged fixture from last month. The game was moved due to the Blues facing Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final.

Chelsea face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and head into the game in sixth place following Newcastle United's defeat to Manchester United. A draw would be enough to confirm a place in Europe next season.

The Blues would be guaranteed Europa Conference League football next season, should United lift the FA Cup at Wembley, but will otherwise earn a place in the Europa League with just one more point. Should Spurs lose to bottom-placed Sheffield United and Chelsea win, they will finish fifth on goal difference.