Saints star Pearson so happy to be able to play his part after spell on sidelines

The flanker had been battling an injury after helping to propel the black, green and gold past Saracens on March 29.

And though at times it seemed like he was close to a return, he couldn't quite get over the line to secure a spot in the 23.

That was until he finally got the nod to play a part from the bench against Bath last month.

And that set him up for a starting place against Saracens in last Friday's Gallagher Premiership play-off semi-final against Saracens.

Pearson produced a typically all-action performance on the night to push Saints to a 22-20 win that booked a spot at Twickenham for Saturday's Gallagher Premiership final against Bath.

And how delighted the back row forward is to be back in the mix following the injury that he feared may end his first season at Saints early.

"It's always in the back of your mind when you're injured that you don't know when the next game is going to be, especially with the injury I had," said Pearson, who arrived at Saints last summer following the sad demise of London Irish.

"There was no certain return to play date.

"I needed a game or two before the semi-final to make myself available for selection and lucky enough I got that last time out against Bath.

"To get a start in the semi-final was a dream come true and with how it went, I'm over the moon."

So how did Pearson feel when he returned to action against Bath?

"I was confident," he said. "I don't think the medics would have let me play if I wasn't ready to go.

"We'd done all the necessary tests to get right and to come off the bench was ideal to give me that 20, 30-minute burst.

"I didn't want to put too much pressure on it because it was an overload injury.

"I was able to start the week after.

"I had kept telling the boys 'next week' and then it was next week and I couldn't play.

"It happened for about a month and it was really frustrating but I knew that every day I would rehab and recover from it was a day closer to playing.

"It was niggly and there was no specific return to play date so I just had to stick with the programme a bit and bide my time.

"To miss big games like the one at Croke Park, at Twickenham against Quins it was tough but I had to stay confident and resilient, knowing I hopefully had a game in the future."

Pearson has the biggest of games in the near future now as Saints get set for the Premiership showpiece.

"We've worked hard this season and it's been a target of ours since the start so to finally get to this stage is brilliant," he said.

"We missed out on the other competitions so it just gives us more motivation to go and win this one.

"Twickenham is sold out already and the amount of support we've had this season, we've had countless games sold out so to get Twickenham full of black, green and gold will be awesome so I'm really looking forward to it."

A heavily-rotated Saints team was well beaten at Bath on the final day of the regular season.

And Pearson said: "It's a good test.

"They're a very attacking team and they attack from anywhere.

"Finn Russell at 10 is a world class operator, they've got good ball carriers around him and that's their game plan.

"They've got a good pack and they back their forwards.

"They've got a strong set piece.

"It's nothing we haven't come up against before so it will be a good test."

It will be the final hurdle in a season that Pearson admits has exceeded his expectations.

He said: "It's probably been better than I expected to be honest.

"With the way we've been playing and with this group of lads, it's shown in our performances.

"It's a great town, I have got family roots here, which is great, so seeing them more often has been brilliant.

"They're all booked in for Twickenham and it will be great.

"On the rugby side it's been great and I couldn't have asked for any more."