Albion defender Adam El-Abd has admitted he faces a fight to win back his place from Lewis Dunk.

El-Abd returned from seven months on the sidelines with a stress fracture of the foot in the first half of a shocking 5-0 defeat for the reserves at Crawley yesterday.

Dunk has seized his opportunity in the absence of El-Abd and Tommy Elphick, who is out for the season after a second Achilles operation.

The young defender’s performances alongside captain Gordon Greer in the centre of defence have earned him England under-21 recognition.

El-Abd said: “One man’s loss is another man’s gain. He has benefited from me and Tommy being out injured.

“He has gone in, taken his chance and done very well, so all credit to him.

“I’m not saying I am going to come back and walk straight back into the team. I know that is not going to be the case. I’ve got to fight for a place and I’m more than willing to do that.”

El-Abd was part of a back four which conceded four goals in the first half before his pre-planned substitution.

He said: “The foot felt good, the body felt good. There were no problems on that front. The scoreline obviously wasn’t what we wanted but I got through it.

“We always knew the recovery could take this long. It’s an injury which can take 12 weeks or a lot longer. There is no set timescale. It’s a bone with no blood supply and it can take a long time to heal.

“It was frustrating to say the least but I finally feel it’s ready for me to join back in and I actually feel really good.

“I can’t wait to get back my match sharpness and hopefully be part of the first team.”