DAVID BUTTON is poised to miss out on a poignant return to Fulham – after proving he is up to the job in the Premier League.

Regular No.1 Mathew Ryan is expected to be back in goal for Albion at Craven Cottage tonight for the first time since Boxing Day following his return from Asian Cup duty for Australia.

Button, who lost his Championship place with promoted Fulham midway through last season, has been an able deputy in his first taste of top flight responsibility in the absence of Ryan.

Boss Chris Hughton told The Argus: “I was always confident David would do well for us. If you are worried that Maty is going to be away for that period of time and you don’t know what you’ve got then you’ve got sleepless nights.

“The reason you bring somebody in you feel can do a good job is to give that reassurance. He’s done every bit as well as I thought he would.”

Ryan returned on Saturday after Australia’s exit from the quarter-finals in the United Arab Emirates against the host nation.

He trained with goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts on Sunday and with the full squad yesterday and Hughton said: “He’s fine. He’s used to travelling.”

Gaetan Bong returns at left-back, with Bernardo still sidelined by hamstring trouble.

Bong was deliberately excluded from Saturday’s home FA Cup draw against West Brom and Martin Montoya switched to left-back due to Bernardo’s injury situation.

Hughton expects Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy to have their hands full again with Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham’s main hope of beating the drop.

Albion were interested in the Serbian, who scored in the 2-2 draw at the Amex in September, before his move from Newcastle to the banks of the River Thames.

Hughton said: “Not just them, I think he gives most centre-half pairings a difficult day. That’s the way he plays. He’s a very physical player, a very good player.

“He’s a big player for them and we know what his strengths are. If we felt he was a tough one in the home game, we have been warned and are prepared for it.”