The midfielder was among the Aston Villa fringe players expected to feature on the south coast.
Henri Lansbury has explained why he was not in Aston Villa’s squad to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
Lansbury has appeared briefly as a substitute in two of Aston Villa’s six Premier League games so far, with his only start coming against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup second round.
And the midfielder was among the Villans fringe players backed to receive some much-needed game time in the third round tie down at the Amex Stadium.
Yet he was omitted altogether, raising eyebrows within the Aston Villa faithful.
Posting on Instagram shortly before kick-off, however, Lansbury clarified his situation, writing:
The Aston Villa manager Dean Smith gave rare starts to Jed Steer, Ahmed Elmohamady, Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause, Matt Target, Conor Hourihane and Keinan Davis against Brighton.
His side progressed to the fourth round courtesy of goals from Jota, Hourihane and Jack Grealish, with Hayden Roberts replying for the hosts.
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