Paul Armstrong believes a feisty Sussex derby is the perfect occasion for him to make his comeback from a serious head injury.

The Eastbourne Borough skipper was due to return to action following a blood clot on the brain at Altrincham last weekend only for the match to be postponed.

That means today’s clash with former club Crawley at Priory Lane will be his first outing since Borough went down 1-0 at Broadfield Stadium seven weeks ago.

Armstrong was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment just hours after that game when he was injured in a scuffle outside a pub.

The former Albion midfielder was only given the all clear to resume full training last week and despite admitting a few nerves is relishing the prospect of a full-blooded encounter against his old club.

Armstrong said: “It is a bit of a coincidence that the last match I played in before the injury was against Crawley and my comeback will be against Crawley but I think it will be good for me as it is going to be a tasty game.

“I hadn’t really thought about what would happen if I got another whack to the head until somebody mentioned it to me but now I have to admit it is in the back of my mind a little.

“I don’t think it will bother me too much though because the doctor said I had fully recovered so it shouldn’t be a problem. I did ask if another bang could cause problems but he said it was fine so I’ve got to trust him.

“The best thing that could happen would be to go up for a header early on and get an elbow or something to the back of the head just to get it out of the way. I’m sure a few challenges will be flying in against Crawley so I shouldn’t have to wait too long!”

Borough have continued their impressive form since Armstrong was sidelined with a run of four consecutive wins halted at home to Mansfield two weeks ago.

In contrast Crawley have picked up only two points from four games since Jon-Paul Pittman’s solitary strike earned them a slightly fortuitous victory over Borough at the end of December.

That has left Borough just five points behind Reds and Armstrong would love to overtake his former club and take their mantle as the second best club in Sussex.

Armstrong added: “You would have thought the gap between the two teams would have been bigger considering this is our first season at this level and they are an established team. They did pull away from us when they were in the play-off positions and we were just above the relegation zone but we have slowly moved closer to them.

“It would be fantastic to end the season as the top non-league club in Sussex.

“Once we get passed that magical 48 point mark to be safe then we can look at other targets.”