Jason Dodd is sweet on his chances of a swift return to Albion's defence after a piece of bone half the size of a lump of sugar was removed from his ankle.

The former Southampton stalwart reckons he could be back sooner than expected following successful keyhole surgery.

Dodd had an operation on Thursday to repair the left ankle damage which ruled him out of the Seagulls' first Championship win of the season against Plymouth at Withdean 12 days ago.

The surgery, performed by the Saints' specialist, was initially expected to sideline the 34-year-old for up to six weeks but he is now hopeful of being back in contention earlier.

Dodd said: "Everything went really well. I asked him not to cut it open if he could, because I knew keyhole surgery would speed up the recovery period.

"He has taken out a few bits of bone and cleaned it up. He said one of them is probably the biggest bit of bone he has taken out of anyone's ankle, about half the size of a lump of sugar.

"I've been given exercises to do and hopefully I won't lose too much ground fitness wise."

Dodd plans to be at Withdean on Tuesday to watch Albion's match against Sheffield United.

He played at rightback in the Seagulls' first five Championship outings and is desperate to return as soon as possible.

"I'm gutted to be out," he said. "We haven't got the biggest of squads. I've played reasonably well so far and I'm really enjoying it."