Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that new signing Matt O’Riley will have to undergo ankle surgery and will be out for some time.

O’Riley, following his expensive move from Celtic, was forced off ten minutes into his Brighton debut against Crawley after being challenged heavily.

Hurzeler confirmed that the Danish international will be out for a while and hopes that the whole club can support him during his recovery.

He said: “It’s a bad injury, he needs an operation on his ankle and I can’t say how long he will be out. We will support him and try to get him back on the pitch quickly.”

“He’s got a good character and is a really positive guy. It’s really important to stay mentally strong and I’m sure he’ll come out of this stronger.”

O’Riley was the Scottish Premiership’s second-top scorer last season with 18 goals and also provided the most assists in the league with 13.

The 31-year-old manager also praised the vision of Tony Bloom, who backed Hurzeler this summer with the highest spending in the club’s history.

In addition to O’Riley, the club has spent almost £200 million on players such as O’Riley, Mats Wieffer, Yankuba Minteh, Ferdi Kadioglu and Georginio Rutter.

“I’m grateful and happy to (chairman) Tony (Bloom) because it shows the ambition of the club and that we want to build on the foundations and make improvements,” said Hurzeler, who is only the fourth Brighton head coach to win his first two league games as manager.

“I’m a very ambitious guy and I hope we can achieve something great together.”

Brighton travel to Arsenal for their third game of the Premier League season on Saturday.

The Seagulls have won three of their seven Premier League away games against Arsenal (1 draw, 3 losses).