Brighton & Hove Albion have played 61 times in all competitions since Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson last started a game together.
The sequence, stretching back to a 2-2 draw away to Leicester City in December 2024, will not be ending any time soon with both players destined for further spells on the sidelines due to ankle injuries.
The attacking relationship between the electric Japanese left-winger and the promising Republic of Ireland No 9 once promised so much. Now there is a legitimate concern about whether it will ever resume.
Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini confirmed at the weekend that Ferguson’s season-long loan with the Serie A side in Italy has been cut short by an ankle problem. Surgery is required, ruling out the 21-year-old for the rest of the campaign, including his country’s bid to qualify for this summer’s World Cup via the European play-offs in March.
Mitoma was forced off at half-time by an ankle issue in the recent 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal. Mitoma’s national manager, Hajime Moriyasu, indicated at the weekend that he is likely to miss at least Brighton’s next two matches away to Sunderland on Saturday and at home to Liverpool on March 21.
An international break until the next fixture at Burnley on April 11 may be helpful to Brighton in terms of Mitoma’s increased recovery time, but the 28-year-old ranks as doubtful at this stage for Japan’s friendlies against Scotland at Hampden Park on March 28 and against England at Wembley on March 31 — part of World Cup preparations for all three nations.
Back in 2023, when Mitoma and Ferguson began link up so successfully for Brighton, it looked like both players were going places fast. That January, Ferguson marked his first Premier League start with a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win at Everton, with Mitoma also on the scoresheet. It launched a productive period as they operated in tandem in the front line.
In April of that year, a low cross by Mitoma was cleverly flicked in by Ferguson with his left heel for the opening goal in a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth. Ferguson was flying – it was his eighth goal in 15 appearances for club and country.
At first, Ferguson and Mitoma forged a productive partnership (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The duo were at it again the following month in a 3-1 win against Southampton at the Amex Stadium which clinched European football for the first time in Brighton’s history. Mitoma provided the assist for Ferguson’s second goal on that occasion, shrugging off a challenge by opponent Romeo Lavia to pick out Ferguson, who found the corner of the net with a composed finish.
The pair carried their promising form into into the 2023-24 season. In another 3-1 home victory in the league in September 2023, against Newcastle, a short pass from Mitoma led to Ferguson completing a hat-trick with a shot which took a heavy deflection off Newcastle defender Fabian Schar.
Then their luck turned, and since then both players have struggled with injury, prompting fears that they may never be in a position to recapture together that golden period.
The problems started for Mitoma this season with an ankle injury in Brighton’s 3-1 win at Chelsea in late September. He did not return until coming off the bench in a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in mid-December. Mitoma proved again how influential he is with a stylish equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Manchester City in January on only his second start after recovering his fitness.
That was his 22nd goal — with 18 assists — in 99 league appearances but it was followed by eight league starts without a goal or an assist for Fabian Hurzeler’s side. Mitoma has not looked as sharp as previously since his comeback from the first injury. He has missed four big chances in his last six outings, according to StatMuse.
“He couldn’t continue the game, so that was disappointing for us because I think he showed a good performance in the first half,” Hurzeler told reporters after Mitoma’s withdrawal against Arsenal. “Now we have to wait for the scan and then we can say more. But we don’t think that it’s a big injury.”
Mitoma missed nine Premier League matches this season with an ankle injury (Glyn Kirk/Getty Images)
Moriyasu gave an update on Mitoma’s fitness to Japanese media at the weekend. “According to the medical report, he will be able to make it in time for the international break and will not be out for a long time,” said Moriyasu. “However, depending on the condition of the injury at the time, there are times when he can return quickly and times when it takes longer, so we have to monitor his progress.”
The Japan coach has previously respected Mitoma’s club commitments, so he will not be taking any chances in the friendly double-header with Scotland and England. That will benefit Mitoma’s prospects of playing a role in Brighton’s final seven matches of the season as they look to climb the table from their current position of 14th. It should also help him be fresh and ready for Japan’s World Cup campaign in June and July in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ferguson’s hopes of involvement in the World Cup finals hinge on his Irish team-mates progressing without him away to the Czech Republic on March 26. If they come through that tie, they will take on Denmark or North Macedonia in a qualification decider in Dublin on March 31. Ferguson has eight goals in 26 games for his country, so he will be sorely missed.
Ferguson’s troubles date back to an ankle injury suffered in his spell of hot form for Brighton attempting to convert a cross during the first half of a 2-1 win at Chelsea in April 2023. Although strength and conditioning work initially limited his absence to four matches, Ferguson eventually had ligament surgery on the joint, which sidelined him for six months.
