SAINTS centre Mark Percival is upbeat about the prospect of returning for the start of the season after receiving positive scan results on the knee injury that has troubled him since late spring.

Percival is currently well into the period of rest prescribed to him by the medical team and specialists, and although he is back in training with Saints he will only resume running in mid-December.

It has been a frustrating period for the international centre, with the re-occurrence of his initial injury in the play offs scuppering his dreams of playing for England in the home World Cup.

But the latest scan result indicate that the leg has healed – and he hopes that all being well he will be back for the season start.

Percival said: “I have just had an x-ray and it looks like it has healed, which is good.

“I am rehabbing now from that injury – and I have had eight weeks of rest since the final and it takes 12 weeks in total.

“So I have four more weeks of rest combined with training, but I am going to be fit for the start of the season.

“It is just about building my fitness and my leg muscles back up because I have not done any leg work since the final.

“I have been doing upper body and have just started back on the bike, but I won’t run until mid December.

“The aim is to play in the pre-season – but only if everything goes well from here on in.”

Although given a six-week prognosis for the initial fracture around the knee sustained in the spring, Percival was subsequently sidelined for four months with the bone bruising before returning for the play offs.

Percival said: “I was quite optimistic last year because I played the first 15 games and then had the fracture that was only meant to be six weeks.

“I thought I can deal with missing six weeks. After that time I went to see another specialist who said there was a bone marrow oedema and he advised me not to come back until that was gone as it could lead to further complications that could impact on my ability to get back playing regularly.

“I wanted to protect my long-term health as if it wasn’t managed properly it could lead to longer lasting implications.

“So that is why it took so long and we had to take it seriously.

“I went down to London and had treatment and tried to progress it, but it just wasn’t healing.

“Just before I came back for the semi the bone marrow oedema was still there – and I was advised by the specialist that the risk was still there but he understood why I wanted to play in the semi and final.

“I said to the physio ‘I’m doing it.’ So I had a mad fitness camp to get fit but my bone was weak and that is why it was re-injured.

“It felt good before but the pain was then bad after the game and it was killing me after the semi so I took a few more anti-inflammatories with my painkillers and then was fine to go for the final.

“After the final I knew I had done something because it was killing me. The scan made the decision not to play for England. It was horrible at the time and I was devastated because I wanted to play in this tournament.”

But the 28-year-old has swiftly put that disappointment behind him and knuckled down for the year ahead.