Albion have been rocked by a serious injury to Dean Blackwell.

The central defender has been ruled out for most of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Manager Steve oppell said today: "It is a very serious injury and he will be out for two-thirds of the season. It is bad news for Dean and for us.

"He overstretched himself when he came back for pre-season training. There was no contact, it was just one of those awkward things.

"Dean will undergo reconstruction on the knee to get him right. It's part of football and I'm sure he will take it and come back.

"We've agreed a new contract with him and will honour that."

Coppell has confirmed goalkeeper Dave Beasant has priced himself out of a new deal with Albion.

He said: "Dave won't be signing for financial reasons. He wasn't asking a great deal but but we have only got so much of the pie to spare.

"It's disappointing because he did a great job for us last season. He has got a lot of offers and will do a good job for anyone."

Darryl Flahavan, the former Southend goalkeeper who has been training with the Seagulls, was expected to play in last night's 5-1 friendly win against Arundel.

But Coppell said: "Michel hadn't played for so long I thought I'd give him decent time on the pitch and it wasn't worth Darryl playing for ten or 15 minutes.

"I've got something in mind but don't want to say any more at this stage."

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