Blues midfielder Anthony Wordsworth’s 93-day loan spell with Crawley Town came to an end following the League One club’s 2-0 home win against Notts County on Saturday.
The 26-year-old, who created both his loan side’s goals at the weekend, made 18 starts and scored four goals having joined the Reds in January and has impressed interim manager Dean Saunders.
"If we manage to stay up, Anthony will have played a massive part in it. He has scored some really crucial goals for us and he has had about ten or 12 assists,” he told the Brighton Argus.
"Anthony is a class player and it is disappointing we are going to lose him for the last two games. He is a key player for us.”
Wordsworth is out of contract at the end of the season and is no longer in Town manager Mick McCarthy’s plans.
Elsewhere, striker Jack Marriott was left out of the Colchester 18 which draw 2-2 at home to Scunthorpe, while keeper Michael Crowe was an unused sub as Woking drew 1-1 at Nuneaton. Both are likely to be involved in this morning’s U21s game against Bristol City at Playford Road (KO 11am).
Central defender Omar Sowunmi, who is amongst those the Blues are releasing at the end of the season, missed Lowestoft’s 1-0 win at Colwyn Bay with a back injury.
Striker Paul Taylor, technically still a Town player despite having settled his contract, was a last minute sub for Blackburn as they drew 3-3 at home to Nottingham Forest. Taylor is not eligible to face the Blues on the final day of the season.