Shane Duffy has bounced back from a near-death experience to star as Albion’s record buy.

The centre-half was left traumatised by a freak training ground accident which led to life-saving surgery.

Duffy was an 18-year-old prospect with Everton when he was called up by the Republic of Ireland for a training match against an amateur team.

A collision with a goalkeeper lacerated his liver. He lost 3.6 litres of blood and underwent an emergency operation at a Dublin hospital.

Duffy, now 24, told The Argus: “It took me a while to get back to where I was.

“I was progressing well and then that happened. I think I came back a bit sooner than I should have and I was a bit of a different player, maybe not as aggressive, maybe worrying when I shouldn’t have.

“At the start it was mental more than physical, going for headers where I’m quite strong, and tackles.

"Mentally I wasn’t strong at that stage, because I didn’t know what my body was going to do, so it maybe changed me, but I tried not to let it.

“I had to drop down a league to get games and rebuild from the bottom again. It was a tough period for me. Everton were brilliant. They stuck by me, let me develop. They knew what I went through.

“It took me a year or two to get back to a consistent level. It was a tough period but now it’s behind me and I am happy with the way it’s going at the moment.”

Duffy has recovered from a shaky start since his £3.5 million move from Blackburn Rovers to play a key role in Albion’s rich vein of form.

They have taken 13 points from a possible 15 and seek a fifth win out of six against Preston North End at the Amex today.