Pervis Estupinan is pretty clear about his simple target after returning from the worst injury of his career.

He wants to be the Estupinan of a couple of seasons ago. Simple as that.

That is the marauding, athletic left-back who did his job in defence and offered so much going forward.

We have seen bit of that. He should have had an assist against Manchester City after a cross which created a great chance for Jack Hinshelwood.

Just as importantly, he got through some valuable defending late on to protect the 2-1 win.

There was a chance created for Ferdi Kadioglu straight after going on at Newcastle as he got all the way to byline.

But there have also been moments which suggest he is not there yet.

Such as being caught out of position on the Wolves equaliser or outmanoeuvred by Mo Salah for the Liverpool winner.

Still, by and large the Ecuador star has looked good – as has his reunion down the left with Kaoru Mitoma.

And that has been great to see after a ridiculous 2023-24 which saw him go off injured at Aston Villa, Ajax and Burnley, the last of them an ankle problem which ruled him out of the Copa America and the first weeks under new club boss Fabian Huerzeler.

Estupinan told The Argus: “I feel really good. I had four months out with a bad injury but I feel in good form, competing to the maximum.

“It is always complicated. All players want to be on the pitch.

“When you come back and then have to stop again it is tough but I think I am now where I need to be.

“I have had to have patient to tackle this situation and move forward.

“For me, this was the worst injury I have had but I have never got too down with it.

“I think the time went quickly.

“I don’t think I suffered too much.

“I got over it quickly and I am now back and making the most of it.

“I think I am getting better all the time.

“I wanted to be the Estupinan of a couple of seasons ago that could get very good numbers.

“I feel stronger defensively all the time and going forward.

“Obviously I want to take that next step where I give assists, where I score goals.

“That will come with work.”

Estupinan signed for Albion when Graham Potter was in charge but that overlap did not last long.

He played his best Premier League football under Roberto De Zerbi.

The former Villarreal man said: “I think every coach has his game plan.

“With Roberto going, we have a different idea of playing.

“The new coach has come in and changed a bit and we are looking to get used to his idea.

“For me, it is a bit different in defence but pretty similar to what we were doing before.

“Going forward, we have to be solid and find more spaces.”

Estupinan says the help others have given him to get back has been a motivation.

Amid the generally positive reaction, there was criticism as Salah cut inside for the winner at Anfield.

He said: “I think for any defender it is difficult to defend, more so when you are playing against players who are so powerful and quick and intelligent as Salah is.

“He is a player who can unbalance you.

“You don’t know where he can be “You have to be 100% concentrated “These are moments in a game, decisions you make.

“Sometimes you get them wrong, sometimes right.

“The bad thing for us as defenders is, when you get it wrong, it’s a goal.

“When a forward makes a mistake, it is not questioned so much.

“You learn from errors, you get better and keep working.”

And that work will lead to great things, he believes, with the best still to come.

Speaking ahead of the win over Manchester City, Estupinan said: “We have had disappointments at home but every weekend is a chance to get points. Obviously there is a lot more to do.

“We have had bad luck with injuries and this affects the team – important players.

“If God allows, they will all be back to help the team.”

Estupinan is now away with Ecuador, preparing for the next two instalments in the World Cup qualifying marathon for the South American nations.

They host Bolivia later this week and visit Colombia in game which ends at 1am on Wednesday, our time.

Clearly that eats into preparation time for the next Premier League fixture.

But the benefit has been that international action has helped Estupinan back to form and match fitness.

He helped keep back-to-back clean sheets in 0-0 draws with Paraguay and Uruguay on the last trip to back up the previous 1-0 win over Peru.

Estupinan said: “We are good. It is very important to always get points.

“The South America qualifiers are really difficult, especially when you get teams who sit back and defend.

“It is hard to create spaces and find a goal.

“We are still getting used to ideas, looking for these goals.

“But we have two games coming when we can open up the goal and move forward.”

Before heading off, Estupinan was presented with some custom-made boots designed by award-winning artist Jordan Dawson.

Dawson, known for his collaborations with Nike and players such as Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Declan Rice, worked closely with both Estupinan and Hinshelwood to make them their own boots.

Each pair is hand-painted and signed and now being auctioned.

Proceeds go to the Charity Gift Card Initiative, a not for profit who operate a gift card for which can only be spent in charity shops, who will use the money to provide charity shop gift cards for homelessness charities in Brighton And Hove, and to the Brighton and Hove Albion Foundation.

Estupinan said: “A friend made us some beautiful boots for me and Jack.

“They are fantastic, I really like them. I’ll try them in training.”

The online auction for the boots closes at 9pm on Friday and can be found via ebay.co.uk, searching “Jordan Dawson charity auction.”