Kaoru Mitoma one of eight Brighton players to miss Nottingham Forest clash

The winger announced last week that he regrettably withdrew from the Japan national team squad after picking up an unspecified injury and would "work hard on recovering as soon as possible".

Mitoma has since been spotted in training this week, providing Seagulls supporters with optimism that he could return for Saturday's trip to the City Ground.

However, De Zerbi has revealed that Mitoma is one of nine Brighton players who will not be involved against Nottingham Forest due to injury.

James Milner is also unavailable for selection due to a muscle problem, and he and Mitoma will continue to train over the weekend before being reassessed ahead of their Europa League match with AEK Athens next Thursday.

Providing an injury update at a press conference on Friday, De Zerbi said: "We have too many injuries - I have lost count! Mitoma and Milner can't play, they are not available. [They will] work with us on Sunday and Monday, but now we are only thinking about Nottingham Forest."

Brighton will also be without Adam Webster (unspecified) and Pervis Estupinan (muscle) due to injury, and De Zerbi fears that the latter will be sidelined for a lengthy period.

Estupinan reaggravated his muscle problem just 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute against Ajax earlier this month, and the left-back has since posted an image on social media of his leg in significant strapping.

"[Estupinan] is not available for a long time," said De Zerbi. "I'm not a doctor, we have very good medical staff, but in terms of the time on Pervis I don't know (when he could return)."

Brighton are also having to cope without Danny Welbeck (muscle), Solly March and Julio Enciso (both knee) who are recovering from long-term injuries, while Mahmoud Dahoud will serve the first of his three-game suspension following his straight red card in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United before the international break.

In addition, De Zerbi has revealed that he "will have to see" whether defender Igor Julio can recover in time from an ankle issue, but the Italian boss has provided a positive update on Lewis Dunk and Tariq Lamptey.

Dunk missed the aforementioned draw with Sheffield United due to a muscle injury, but De Zerbi has confirmed that the Seagulls captain is available for selection against Forest.

Lamptey, meanwhile, has been sidelined since early October with a muscle problem of his own, but he has recently made progress in his recovery and could feature in the matchday squad this weekend.

"Tariq is better," said De Zerbi. "I don't know if he can play 90 minutes or part of the game (on Saturday), but [his recovery] is good news for us because we have been playing without a [natural full-back].

Jakub Moder is also pushing to be involved again after he returned to the matchday squad against Sheffield United for the first time in 19 months after recovering from a troublesome ACL injury.

There was no mention of Evan Ferguson during De Zerbi's press conference, and the striker - who picked up a hamstring issue on international duty with the Republic of Ireland - has emerged as a doubt for the trip to the City Ground.

Brighton are unbeaten in each of their last five matches across all competitions, but they have failed to win any of their last six in the Premier League and currently sit eighth in the table, six points and six places above Saturday's opponents Forest in 14th.