It is the item which attracts most interest in Fabian Huerzeler’s press conferences on a Thursday morning.

Which is a shame, really, given that he often offers us quite long answers which provide real insight into what he is thinking and how he assesses his team’s progress.

But the bit it seems everyone wants first, for their fantasy teams in many cases, is the injury update.

Often this, and indeed last, season it has felt almost like us reporters taking the register as we sit there in rows before Roberto De Zerbi and now Huerzeler and fire names at them.

Like a school classroom in reverse.

And the information can be sketchy – which is understandable.

If you suspect an opponent does not know whether they will face a key player, why would you give that away?

What we do probably know, though, is that Albion’s injuries have been substantial so far this season.

And that they have probably been under-rated by some who do not put as much focus on the Seagulls as they do other clubs.

Latest stats from Premier Injuries show Albion have had 12 injuries causing a player to miss at least one game.

Only Tottenham, with 13, have had more.

In terms of days lost to injury, Albion come top with 397.

It was Jan Paul van Hecke who really confronted the situation when asked about the Manchester City players who missed their defeat at the Amex.

He replied: “Yes, but WE have injuries. Last season we had big injuries and not a lot of people were speaking about us when we had injuries.

“I think it is part of football that sometimes you have your best players injured.

“Of course, it is harder to play against De Bruyne when he is fit because he is an unbelievable player but I think we miss some players."

Van Hecke is among those who has been ruled out having missed the games with Chelsea and Tottenham and only gone on very late in the win at Newcastle.

But he has also risen to the challenge because of an injury.

When he and Igor under-pinned the comeback against City, it was a rare win without Lewis Dunk.

The commonly held belief around many Albion observers is that Dunk was particularly missed in the late cave-in against Wolves.

It certainly felt like Joao Pedro was missed in the 0-0 draw with Ipswich.

His season so far has been stop-start to say the least, but the ‘start’ bits have shown how good it can be when he gets a run of games.

Matt O’Riley was cruelly held up in his Premier League arrival and, while he has been out there and so not part of the stats, it feels like Albion have not always had Pervis Estupinan at full power until recently.

James Milner looked like he would be a key man in this campaign throughout pre-season.

Then he played in two Prem wins out of two before injury struck.

And, of course, we have no idea what part Solly March can play for a Huerzeler team.

The head coach has been asked about March twice in the last three weeks and there is no clear indication of when he will be back.

Other than that he will be at some stage this season.

But then there is a flipside. By design or out of necessity, Albion’s goals and minutes have been spread across an impressive range of players this season.

That can be handy for the busy weeks which lie ahead.

And then look at who has played the most minutes.

Danny Welbeck, whose bad luck with injuries has been mentioned just occasionally in the past, leads Albion in terms of Prem playing time to date with 934 minutes.

Kaoru Mitoma, who we hardly saw from midway through last season, is second on 921. Jack Hinshelwood is up there too.

In terms of where good fortune isn't hiding, West Ham have had just two injuries and have only lost 84 days.

It has not served them so well so far.