Aaron Connolly missed Brighton's Premier League opener against Burnley on Saturday for 'personal reasons', Graham Potter has confirmed.
The Galway striker missed the Seagulls' 2-1 win, sparking concern among fans after he featured regularly in pre-season.
And after the game, Brighton boss Potter confirmed that the Ireland international was absent due to personal reasons, while Joel Veltman missed out as a close contact.
Potter said: “Joel was a Covid close contact and Aaron was (missing) for personal reasons.”
Connolly endured a tough season at Brighton in 2020/21, making just 17 appearances and scoring two goals in an enduring campaign.
And speaking in April, Potter opened up on Connolly's
“Aaron is only a young man. He’s learning – I look back at myself when I was that age and I didn’t know a lot of things and maybe thought I did.
"But he’s taking responsibility, he’s learning about himself more and more, learning about what it takes to be a Premier League footballer, how to deal with setbacks and disappointment and all those things – criticism that comes your way.”
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