Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that Femi Azeez will not be available for competitive action in the near term, as the Nigerian winger continues his recovery from a pre-existing injury.

Azeez arrived at the Seagulls on transfer deadline day, signing from Championship club Millwall. The move, however, came with a complication — the 24-year-old had sustained an injury on the opening day of the season while still at Millwall, and that setback has delayed his competitive debut at his new club.

Adapting to Premier League demands

Azeez did feature in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the three-week international break as part of his return to fitness, but Hurzeler made clear ahead of Brighton's trip to Sunderland on Saturday that further patience is required.

"He played in a friendly game and he had some minor issues this week," Hurzeler told The Argus. "What I mean by that is his body needs to adapt to our intensity, to our demands, the demands in the Premier League."

The German coach added that the issues are not injury-related but rather a sign of the physical adjustment every new player must undergo. "I think he's feeling now that he's in his adaptation phase," Hurzeler said. "It's not an injury but there are some small, minor issues and, again, he's a player who is quite sensitive."

Hurzeler indicated that the decision on when to involve Azeez would be made collaboratively. "We have to get a feeling now of what makes sense for him — does it make sense to play tomorrow, does it make sense to play in the next game? It's a decision we have to do together," he said.

Patience with every new signing

Brighton's head coach was keen to frame Azeez's situation within the club's broader approach to integrating new recruits, stressing that adaptation timelines differ from player to player.

"Like with all the new players, we have to be patient. That's no surprise for us," Hurzeler said. "We try to give him a good environment where he can improve and adapt to certain things. Some players need more time, some players are quicker. We have to see how Femi reacts to this."

The Nigeria international's availability will be monitored as Brighton assess how his body responds to the demands of his new environment.