Maty Ryan says competition for places is hotting up again after Albion had two players make their long-awaited returns from injury.

Summer signing Leandro Trossard, who picked up a groin injury on international duty with Belgium at the start of September, came on to make a huge impact in a 3-2 win over Everton on Saturday.

Trossard put across the ball in stoppage time which Lucas Digne turned into his own net to win Albion the game.

Ezequiel Schelotto, who has been out with a cruciate ligament rupture since March, also returned.

Argentinian Schelotto came on in the 66th minute for fellow full-back Martin Montoya to warm applause.

Keeper Ryan believes having players like Trossard, pictured, and Schelotto back will have a knock-on effect as Seagulls strive for improvement.

He said: “Just as the transfer window came to a close some players left and just after that we got quite a few injuries.

“The squad was looking quite thin after looking quite thick throughout the pre-season.

“Over the years and our experience in the Premier League we have got more depth every season and this year it has been the case again.

“There are important players coming back now and it just creates competition for spots and ultimately it is going to raise the individual levels and standards, which is only going to raise the team’s standards.

“It is positive signs moving forward.”

One thing many Albion fans would not have thought they would have seen this season is Schelotto donning the blue and white stripes again.

However, Potter insisted over the summer that he would give everyone opportunities, even those that have been hit by injury or were out of favour under previous manager Chris Hughton, and he has stuck to his word.

Schelotto’s appearance against Everton was his first for Albion since the final day of their first Premier League campaign in May 2018 when he played the full 90 minutes in a 4-0 defeat away to Liverpool.

The 30-year-old did not feature for Albion in the first half of last season and then went out on loan to the Serie A in January to play for Chievo Verona.

Schelotto played a part in four games in a row for Chievo before suffering the injury 18 minutes into the 3-0 defeat to Torino in March.

Since then the full-back has worked hard to recover from such a serious injury in just seven months and Ryan praised Schelotto for overcoming such massive set-backs.

He said: “The manager has shown he gives opportunities to everyone and anyone.

“Everyone is on a level playing field, if you are working hard in training you are going to get rewarded.

“Credit to Ezequiel for his approach to his craft and what he does. He has shown all his determination and ability to overcome a big set-back and challenges in order to get back out on the pitch.

“It was a nice reward for him and I’m sure he will have a big role in every game he can get back out on the pitch.”

Striker Aaron Connolly was also pleased to see the pair return, especially Schelotto who arrived with the nickname The Greyhound .

He said: “ El Galgo (Schelotto) has been out for six or seven months, so it is good to see him back, and Leandro (Trossard) too. It is good to have players like that on the pitch.

“We will just keep pushing each other to try and get the shirts to be in the starting eleven.

“It is good competition, but it is good to see the two of them back.”