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Brighton & Hove Albion forward Brajan Gruda has been forced out of international duty with Germany under-21’s by a knee injury.
The issue, sustained during Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, has led to Gruda’s departure from preparations for Germany’s Under-21 European Championship qualifiers at home to Greece on Friday and away to Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
The German FA said in a statement: “Brajan Gruda has been forced to leave the U21 training camp in Leipzig early due to injury. The Brighton and Hove Albion attacking player is unavailable for selection for the upcoming international matches due to persistent knee problems resulting from the last Premier League match against Wolverhampton.”
Gruda was replaced after 70 minutes of Sunday’s match at Molineux by Greek under-21 striker Stefanos Tzimas. Gruda started on the right wing. He has also been used in the No 10 role in recent games by Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler.
Gruda, signed from Mainz for £25million in August 2024, has been more prominent in Hurzeler’s attacking plans in his second season at the club, scoring twice and contributing two assists across eight appearances in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. The goals included a late winner as a substitute in the 2-1 league victory against Manchester City at the Amex Stadium in August.
Hurzeler shuffled his front line at Wolves, using Gruda on the right and switching Yankuba Minteh to the left wing in place of the injured Kaoru Mitoma. A minor foot injury also prompted Mitoma’s absence from the Japan squad for home friendlies against Paraguay on Friday and Brazil on Tuesday.
Brighton return to Premier League action with a home fixture against Newcastle on October 18.
Oct 8, 2025
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