Jakub Moder was thrown back in at the deep end when he returned to action from injury.

Roberto De Zerbi sent him into the heat of battle at the City Ground just after Lewis Dunk had been dismissed and Nottingham Forest had reduced arrears to 3-2.

He duly helped Albion secure the points and great scenes of celebration followed.

De Zerbi did something similar when his side were looking to protect a 2-1 lead at home to Brentford a few weeks later.

Again, the points were successfully secured.

De Zerbi said at the time: “He played in a very difficult situation in Nottingham, in another difficult situation the last ten, 15 minutes against Brentford.

“He is another potential leader of Brighton in the future.”

Now Moder could make a similar high-stakes return for his country.

While most nations are involved in friendlies over this fortnight, Poland are playing for their Euro 2024 lives.

A qualifying play-off at home to Estonia will, they hope, be followed by a trip to Wales or Finland in the quest for a spot in Germany next summer.

Moder was hopeful of a recall to the squad from boss Michal Probierz after involvement in 11 club games, three of which were starts.

Probierz visited Brighton to check on the player’s progress.

The good news was confirmed just ahead of last Thursday’s Europa League second leg versus Roma. It is his first participation since the knee injury sustained in a 0-0 draw with Norwich City which cost him a place at the World Cup for which he had helped Poland qualify.

Moder said: “I think it’s a super moment for me.

“It’s two years since I was last in a Poland squad and obviously I’m delighted to be back.

“It’s brilliant to be able to contribute to trying to get us to the Euros.

“It has taken two years of hard work to get to this point, to come back from the injury.

“It’s a big landmark for me. It’s something I was aiming towards and gave me extra motivation.”

All seemed to be going swimmingly for Moder as his performances in the Premier League saw him emerge as a regular for his country.

Highlights in the red shirt included a goal against England in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

Then, at the highest point, came the cruel setback.

Moder said: “The last time I was in the squad was for the previous (World Cup) play-offs and I managed to help us get there, so it was a desperate shame to miss the finals.

“I picked up the injury almost straight after the play-offs so to be back in time for the next play-off ties is coming back to where it all started.

“I hope we have the same outcome as last time and get through to another major tournament.

“It was always one of my aims to get back into the Poland squad sooner or later.

“You have to set goals when you are doing rehab.

“It was a case of making a plan and doing things step by step.

“I’ve recently started playing more games for the club, so the Poland coach has seen that and feels that I’m ready to get back to contributing.

“It remains to be seen to what extent, but it’s fantastic to be part of it again.”

Probierz, who took over earlier this season in succession to Fernando Santos, has been in close contact with Moder.

The 24-year-old said: “I spoke to the coach and he emphasised to me that I was one of the players at the forefront of his thinking when my fitness was back to the required levels.

“That was very important and reassuring because, inevitably, you have moments of doubt trying to get back from an injury like the one I had.

“I was even happier to hear that the coach had been keeping an eye on me all the time and monitoring my progress to get me back in at the earliest opportunity, that he sees me as someone who could come back in and be an important contributor.

“Even though I didn’t realise it, because a lot of recovery from injury happens in isolation, he had me on his radar all the time. “I had just established myself as an international when the injury happened, and that was the level I wanted to get back to.

“I only found out 100% that I was definitely back on Thursday but I had talked to the coach two or three weeks ago when he came to Brighton to see me.

“He expressed his positive enthusiasm at my progress, of me as a player who can contribute to the team.

“But at that point he couldn’t confirm whether I would definitely be back in in time for the playoffs - it depended on my playing matches and how my fitness was looking.

“But even then, him speaking so positively about me was fantastic.

“Obviously, I was delighted to get confirmation that I was in.”