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Jack Hinshelwood has made an early impact in the Golden Boot race, but he is now a doubt for this weekend.

Hinshelwood is uncertain for Brighton & Hove Albion’s match against Chelsea this weekend.

The Seagulls player scored twice on the opening day of the season, but he missed Brighton’s 4-0 Conference League win over Tromso last night after picking up a knock.

The versatile player is now facing a rapid recovery timeline before Brighton take on a Blues side that has won both of its competitive matches under Xabi Alonso.

Hinshelwood played 63 minutes in the demolition of Aston Villa, scoring two goals from only two shots on target.

However, the midfielder suffered a knock on Wednesday, with manager Fabian Hurzeler sounding cautiously hopeful that he could return sooner rather than later when he spoke before the European game against Tromso.

“He had a small issue in training yesterday, so we have to go day by day with him and see how it progresses over the next few days,” the Brighton manager said after his team’s win over Tromso. “I can’t give you a clear schedule for when he will be back: it could be a really short thing, or it could be a few days longer.”

“Let’s see how he presents himself, and then we can make a decision.”

According to The Athletic, the Brighton academy graduate could be out for five to six weeks, although the exact nature of the injury has not yet been confirmed.

Brighton are already dealing with several injury issues at this early stage of the campaign, with wingers Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh both currently sidelined. Hurzeler has also said he spoke to the Gambian winger to persuade him to stay at the Amex.

Mitoma had missed the World Cup with Japan because of injury, while Georginio Rutter is still being assessed after suffering a knock.

Rutter’s absence may open the door for Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas to make his mark, while new signing Promise David could be in contention for a Premier League debut after being named on the bench against Aston Villa.