Wes trauma

That is just as well, considering the trauma the first-year professional has been through over the last couple of months.

Fogden did not appreciate himself at first the full horror of being diagnosed with a spine tumour.

There could have been much more at stake than making Albion's first team or even kicking a ball again.

Fortunately, the tumour was benign and, following surgery, Fogden can now think again about pursuing his dreams with the Seagulls.

Fogden's plight is a prime example of what a great leveller football can be.

He could not have felt better at the end of last season, when he was among the multitude of prospects from Albion's successful youth team to be offered professional terms.

It was a special moment for the versatile 18-year-old, Brighton born and bred.

His grandparents were season ticket holders, his dad is a fan and the former Patcham High School pupil began supporting the club himself from the age of nine or ten.

Fogden had a taste of what it could be like playing for the senior side when he was involved in last season's FA Youth Cup triumph against Chelsea in front of a big crowd at Withdean.

He wanted more and set about being fully prepared for the return to pre-season training.

He started playing tennis to keep himself ticking over through the summer, unaware that his world was about to unravel.

"I felt it one morning after tennis, just a little twinge in my back," he said.

"I went to see the physios, got some treatment, then had a holiday in Egypt. I was getting massages over there but it still wasn't right.

"I tried the running for the first few days when we reported back, then after the third day I couldn't move. I was sent to the osteopath to get it checked and nobody knew what it was.

"Luckily the physio staff sent me for an X-ray in the end. They reported back the next day that they had seen something and wanted me to go for scans to find out what it actually was.

"They thought to start off with that maybe it was a stress fracture but it turned out that I had a tumour on my fifth vertebrae.

"I was really worried before I went to the X-rays, because I couldn't move, but when I was told it was a tumour that was really a shock.

"Mal (physio Malcolm Stuart) took me into one of the physio rooms to let me know. He put his arm round me. I didn't know what to think, there were loads of things going through my mind, especially not being able to play football.

"I didn't realise it could have been more serious than it was. I was just thinking about not playing for a while, I wasn't really thinking whether it was cancerous."

Reality dawned on Fogden when he went to the hospital in London where his operation was to take place.

"One of the surgeons said the tumour was quite big and they might have to go in through both sides, which would mean putting metal work in and maybe not playing again.

"As soon as I got out of the hospital I was in a world of my own. It was hard to take.

"They didn't think the tumour was cancerous but I went up again a couple of weeks later just to get it checked.

"I met a couple of boys in there. One of them thought he had a fractured collar bone but it was actually cancer and it went down to his lungs.

"Because I was just thinking about the football I didn't realise it could have been a lot more serious. I know it was serious but not as bad as it could have been." Fogden's surgery went well.

All of the tumour was removed and he was out of hospital in just over a week, when he was expected to be kept in for three weeks, but there was a complication.

The tumour had eaten away at the bone, so bone has been grafted from his pelvis to fuse the spine.

He is in a body cast for up to 12 weeks - which he can only remove to shower - and faces a follow-up X-ray later this month.

"They've said six to 12 months for the bone to fuse, hopefully it will be shorter," Fogden said. "A lot of it is mentally.

Alan Kenworthy, the psychologist who is working for the club now, and all the players are helping me through it.

"Everyone at the club has been really supportive, the gaffer to the coaching and medical staff.

"My aims were high, to try and push for the first team squad if not play at some stage of the season.

"It's a big heartache to know that I won't be doing that this season but I just couldn't get my head around having a tumour to start with, because of the thought of not playing football again.

"It is definitely a big relief that it wasn't cancerous. I'm glad they caught it when they did."