Tommy Elphick has vowed to come back stronger than ever after seeing his Amex dream put on hold by injury.

The Albion defender had set his heart on featuring in the club’s first game at their new stadium, just a couple of miles from his Woodingdean home.

Now he has cancelled his holidays and is facing up to a summer of hard work after suffering a ruptured Achilles in the final game of the season at Notts County. Elphick has the plaster removed from his right leg on Monday, which will be two weeks on from a successful operation.

He is currently laid up at home but said: “The long-term future is still bright for me.

“Football is like that. One moment you are rock bottom, you just cannot see anything positive. Next you are at the top again and everything is going well.

“That’s all part of the career I’ve chosen. Looking back now, I’ve hardly missed a day’s training. Now it seems like I’ll be out for a large chunk of time.

“But I believe this setback can do me good in the long term. It will strengthen me mentally as a person. It gives me time to look at things I have got to work on. It will freshen me up.”

Elphick hopes to resume full training in early September after recovering from the worst injury of his young career.

He said: “I’m doing nothing now apart from basic exercises to keep my upper leg and hip strong.

“I would have been resting a bit now anyway at the end of the season but not this much. I’d have been ticking over a little bit. I’m house bound really. I can’t even drive. It’s frustrating.

“But I’ve got a clear recovery plan. I’ve got good people around me and the surgeons were happy with how the operation went.

“It was what they call a high energy tear. They are harder to operate on but they should heal quicker.

“We’re talking four to six months. If all goes well I should be back training in four months.”