Connor Goldson's heart is fine after his op to repair an enlarged aorta.

His head is a different matter.

Physically, Albion's central defender is in a good place now.

Mentally, he will be a grump if he does not get more game time.

Goldson makes his first appearance on English soil at Crawley today since his heart defect was diagnosed in February.

He featured in the second half of the victory against Fortuna Dusseldorf in Austria eight days ago.

He will get another run-out in north Sussex as Chris Hughton utilises his full squad in the early stages of the pre-season friendly programme.

The concern for Goldson is how many minutes he will get with Albion in the Premier League.

Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy are the first choice partnership in the middle of the back four.

Goldson also faces competition from experienced German Uwe Huenemeier.

Prior to the heart issue, Goldson had made only four starts and one substitute appearance for Albion in the Championship last season.

A medial knee ligament injury, 48 hours into the training camp in Tenerife a year ago, set him back and the Seagulls bought Republic of Ireland international Duffy (below) from Blackburn Rovers a few weeks later.

The Argus: Before joining the Seagulls, Goldson was a mainstay for Shrewsbury. The 24-year-old admits remaining patient is proving troublesome.

"Yes, definitely," he told The Argus. "I am used to playing and I am only happy when I am playing.

"The first season here was good. I managed to play 28-30 games. Last season was not so good, for problems of my own and how well the team were doing.

"I got an injury in pre-season. Obviously that didn't help me and then the heart thing didn't help me.

"This season I have to play football. Hopefully it's here. I want to stay here, I want to play here, but if it's here I need to go and play games.

"I can't have two seasons on the bounce not playing, because not only does it affect my career as a footballer, it affects me mentally.

"I'm not a happy person when I'm not playing football, that's all I want to do.

"Ask my girlfriend. I'm not happy at home when I'm not playing every week. It's hard but I need to keep working hard and give people decisions.

"Whether that decision is I go out on loan and play or stay here and play we'll have to wait and see."

The fact that Goldson is playing at all can be attributed to the demanding standards of Adam Brett (below), Albion's head of medical services.

The Argus: He insists the players have at least one heart scan every two years. Goldson's problem was spotted and dealt with before tragedy could strike.

He exclusively revealed in The Argus last Saturday that he risked death without surgery on his swollen aorta.

It is now mandatory that every player playing in the Premier League or any UEFA competition must have at least one 'ECG' and 'Echo' in their medical folder.

An echocardiogram (Echo) is a type of ultrasound scan, used to look at the heart and nearby blood vessels.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) measures the electrical activity of the heart via a moving strip of paper or a line on a screen.

The pattern of testing further down the football pyramid is sketchy. Goldson believes more needs to be done more regularly.

He said: "It's not hard for a player, even if it was done just over a week at the hospital, to have a scan.

"A scan lasts 20 minutes and I don't think it's that bigger deal to do that once a year, once every two years, what ever.

"It just needs to be checked and if you don't you will never know what's happening inside the body.

"It's easy to know exterior faults or injuries but there are things that go on inside the body.

The Argus: "At Wolves, Carl Ikeme (above) has just been diagnosed with leukaemia. I've known Carl since he was young. He was always ahead of me at Wolves.

"Things like that are getting picked up more and more. That's what I mean. In a footballer's body people don't see what's going on.

"The body gets put through such exertions. I think all tests need to be done, to measure what's happening inside the body, not just on the outside."