Welbeck's Newcastle heroics lauded but Brighton concerned over striker's injury

Brighton captain Lewis Dunk lauded Danny Welbeck as "key to our success" after a hard-fought 1-0 away win over Newcastle United on Saturday.

Welbeck combined well with Georginio Rutter before sliding his slick finish past Nick Pope, and that 35th-minute strike proved the difference at St. James' Park.

The well-taken finish marked Welbeck's 100th Premier League goal involvement (72 goals, 28 assists) and he has now scored as many goals in the competition this season as he did in the 2023-24 campaign (five).

Having also scored the winner against Tottenham before the international break, Welbeck continues to deliver for Fabian Hurzeler's side, though there was cause for concern as the veteran striker left the pitch on a stretcher late on after a seemingly innocuous clash with Fabian Schar.

Dunk lavished praise on his team-mate after a victory that lifted Brighton up to fifth in the Premier League table, two points adrift of the top four.

"I'm gutted to see him go off, he's been in top, top form this season. Hopefully it's not a bad injury and he'll be back soon," Dunk told BBC's Match of the Day.

"He was ruthless scoring his goal. Me and him have a good link-up. He's one of the top professionals at this football club and he's a great key to our success.

"He helps everyone, young and old. Hopefully his injury is not too bad and we'll have him fighting to get fit."

pic.twitter.com/RghRR8T4oT

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) October 19, 2024

Hurzeler was unable to offer an update on Welbeck's injury, though he hailed Brighton's spirited showing on Tyneside.

"No updates. I can't say any updates. I think he got a knee in his lower back. Let's wait until later, then we'll know more," the German told the BBC.

"We defended together. In the end, defence wins championships. We got smashed against Chelsea but we learnt from it.

"Not everything was perfect, we have to be honest with ourselves, but the luck will come to you if you work for it.

"We have a lot of injuries, we always have to adjust things. But the guys are doing it brilliantly. Of course, we want to focus on the process but you also need the results."

Eddie Howe was left incensed after his side made it four games without victory in the league, suggesting they should have had a first-half penalty when Joel Veltman appeared to handle inside the box.

Veltman was falling after a challenge with Lewis Hall, and both the referee and a VAR review concluded that no penalty should be awarded.

"I haven't seen it back but a couple of our coaches looked at it back and were adamant it was a penalty," Howe said of the decision.

"If I look at it back and I'm of the same view as the coaches that will be hugely frustrating, because we were totally dominant at that point. When you have that kind of start in the game, you want a goal for your endeavours and that was all that was missing in the opening 35 minutes.

“If we were 2-0 up you'd say that was one of the best performances we've had in a long time. Goals always change perspectives of performances and that's why I have to keep some kind of perspective on that."