Matt O'Riley Brighton injury nightmare as ex Celtic star faces surgery and months out

Gutted Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed Matt O'Riley will undergo surgery after suffering a serious ankle injury.

The former Celtic star was handed his debut less than 24 hours after completing his £30million switch from Parkhead. But he was forced off after just six minutes when he was wiped out by Crawley skipper Jay Williams' wild tackle.

The Denmark international was unable to continue as he hobbled off the park with the help of medical staff and remarkably, referee Alex Chilowicz decided to take no action against Williams. Now, O'Riley could face months on the sidelines after Hurzeler revealed his big-money signing will go under the knife.

Speaking this morning, the German said: "Like we expected, it's a bad injury. He needs surgery on his ankle. I can't say how long we expect him to be out, we have to look at how rehab will go. But of course, it's a tough one for us but we try to support him in the best way we can and try to get him as fast as possible on the pitch. Let's hope he will be back soon.

"I had a small chat with him yesterday. Of course, it's not the best situation and he's very, very disappointed. But he's a good character and he's a very positive guy. He looks immediately into the future and says that he will be back soon and stronger.

"That's a very positive thing and what I like. His attitude is very important and you say mentally strong in tough moments like this because you can't change it and that's why I think he'll come back stronger."