Simon Adingra admits he thought his AFCON dream was dying – twice.

But the Albion winger could help Ivory Coast clinch a final place in another against-the-odds battle tonight.

Adingra has built his fitness after a hamstring injury and is expected to make his first start of the tournament in the semi-final against DR Congo.

AFCON finishes this weekend and it would appear Adingra will miss the Premier League game at Tottenham whatever happens tonight given there is a third-place play-off.

While keen to see him back, Albion would also be delighted if he were to enjoy international success, as they were for Alexis Mac Allister at the World Cup.

Adingra has looked sharp and lively and scored the late equaliser against Mali which kept his nation alive in the quarter-final.

They came from behind late on to beat Senegal on penalties in the last 16 having sacked their coach when it appeared they would not even make it out of the group stage.

Adingra said: “My heart was beating very fast and I am really happy for this team.

“We were already dead and we resuscitated ourselves.

“We have been dead twice.”

Ivory Coast have four players suspended for tonight’s game.

Kaoru Mitoma and Japan went out of the Asian Cup on Saturday.

Asked recently how soon he would like to see his internationals return when their tournaments were over, Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi replied: "Around one hour after the end of the game, 45 minutes!

"Both Mitoma and Adingra are so important for us.”