On Tuesday, Voetbal International stated Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jan Paul van Hecke has suffered a groin injury.
It was also reported the defender is expected to be in contention to face Newcastle United on October 19th, after Brighton initially feared he’ll be out for a long time.
This has been now dismissed by the Brighton player himself. He gave an interview to ESPN NL, revealing the groin injury will keep him on the sidelines for more than a month.
The 24-year-old, who made his debut for the Netherlands last month, said he’d been struggling with a groin problem for a while. It became worse during Brighton’s 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest on September 22nd.
The Netherlands international underwent tests to find out the extent of the damage.
“I’ve been wearing it for a while and also played matches with it, but in the final phase against Nottingham Forest it hit my groin. Afterwards we had a scan made and it became clear that there was a significant tear,” he said.
This forced the centre-back to miss Brighton’s loss to Chelsea last Saturday and will miss the upcoming fixtures for club and country. The Dutchman remains hopeful of making a quick recovery from this setback.
“It remains to be seen how the rehabilitation will go, but in principle it will take six weeks. I feel like I’m a little ahead of schedule. I hope that things will go a little faster and that I can connect again sooner,” Jan Paul van Hecke explained.
Oranje manager Ronald Koeman included the Brighton player in his pre-selection list for the UEFA Nations League matches against Hungary and Germany this month. Jan Paul van Hecke is disappointed with the latest blow.
“It’s a shame and I’m disappointed that I had to suffer this injury at this time, but injuries are never good. You have to learn to deal with that. I’m going to make sure I get back as soon as possible,” he added.
