Tariq Lamptey now has a better idea of what he must do to get back to his best.

That was the view of boss Graham Potter after restoring the wing-back to the Premier League.

Lamptey went on as sub early in the second half as Albion drew 0-0 at Norwich.

It was his first Prem outing since last December and he remains well below full power.

Potter, though, feels that will come bit by bit.

The Seagulls head coach said: “He has got a great attitude.

“He has missed football.

“He has been on a long journey so he wants to get out there and I accept that and understand totally.”

Asked whether he will have to rein Lamptey in, Potter said: “He’s an intelligent boy as well.

“I think today would have helped him understand the step that he has to take.

“It has been hard for him. A long road.

“The next challenge is to try and get him up to speed to play in the Premier League, which isn’t straightforward.

“Everybody of course wants to see him on the pitch but you have to understand he has been through a lot and we have to gradually introduce him.

“He will get better and better the longer he is with the group, the longer he is training, the longer he gets those bits of game time.”

Potter was asked about the timing of Lamptey’s introduction, which gave the match a new dynamic down that side.

He said: “It’s about game time. He has played 45 minutes against Swansea and has been on the bench in the Premier League.

“We haven’t really had the opportunity to put him on.

“He is just building his game load and capacity to deal with the game.

“I think the maximum he was going to get today was 35 minutes, 40 minutes, “We felt we had some opportunities on the transition, maybe a threat wide.

“He is a different player to Joel (Veltman) but, at the same time, it is not easy to do when you have had the lay-off Tariq has had and then to just pick up the speed in the Premier League. It’s hard.”

Lamptey will be an option for the visit of Manchester City, although it would appear that would not be as a starter.

The Carabao Cup trip to Leicester a week on Wednesday looks a great chance of playing time.

That was where he made his first appearance in Albion colours during the Restart fixtures.

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Potter said: “It is about building that up and it takes a bit of time because, football-wise, he hasn’t played that much over the last ten months.

“We need to be patient with him, introduce him when the right time is.

“Keep supporting him and keep helping him.”

Lamptey admitted he now has a taste for more after returning to the big time.

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He said: “Yes, exactly that. Once you are back in and get a taste for it, you just want to work as hard as possible, make sure you are working hard in training and when you come on the pitch try and help the team as much as possible.

“I am really looking forward to doing more now.”