Solly March facing a 'long time' on the treatment table after against Man City

Roberto De Zerbi found himself again cursing his luck with injuries as he revealed Solly March is facing a 'long time' on the treatment table.

March appeared to awkwardly bend his knee deep into stoppage time and he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher, to the bemusement of his manager.

'We are playing a different sport this season and we are losing too many players,' said the Brighton boss.

'The worst thing today is I think we are losing March for a long time.'

Brighton dazzled last season and got into the Europa Conference League as a result.

But that has brought extra games and De Zerbi is under no illusions that the increased wear and tear is beginning to show on his squad.

Danny Welbeck also had to be go off early in the match and De Zerbi confirmed the 32-year-old picked up a muscle injury.

'I'm frustrated, we lost two important players,' he added.

'It's tough because we play against Ajax - a crucial game - without [Pervis] Estupinan, [Tariq] Lamptey, March and Welbeck.

'We need more players. We are not used to playing in European competition.

'We have to find a solution to play and compete in every competition.'

March has been brilliant under De Zerbi and losing him for months will come as a crushing blow.

The midfielder suffered a serious knee injury earlier in his career, damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in 2015 which saw him miss the rest of the 2015-16 season.