HOOKER Niall Annett says he is delighted to be “at the end of the tunnel” after experiencing “some dark days” during his long road to recovery.

The fit-again front rower made his first Premiership appearance at Sixways in almost two years on Saturday when Worcester Warriors lost 21-20 to Wasps.

His “surprise” start followed his “emotional” return to action when he came off the bench in Worcester’s 57-0 thrashing of Birmingham Moseley in pre-season.

And the 27-year-old now hopes his tale of injury woe is behind him as he bids to retain his place for Warriors’ trip to Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday (3pm).

“It has been quite a time away from the game for me so I am delighted to be back out there,” Annett said.

“It meant a lot to play in the Premiership again. It maybe came a little sooner than I thought it would but it was a really nice surprise.

“Hopefully I can get a good run of games and show the quality I know I have.”

The Irishman’s succession of injuries began in November 2016 when he sustained a blow to his ankle in Warriors’ home clash with Northampton Saints.

Three months later Annett returned to face Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens only to suffer a bang to the head.

After recovering from concussion the former Ulster ace injured his hamstring in preparation for the 2017-18 season.

He then launched his comeback in an A-League game against Leicester Tigers in September 2017 but damaged knee ligaments in training, ruling him out for the entire campaign.

“That was hard to deal with as I had just come back from injuring my hamstring tendon,” Annett said.

“There were some dark days and it was a tough time off the pitch as well due to family reasons.

“But my family, fiancé, friends and the lads here dragged me through it.

“You put your head down, work as hard as you can and before you know it you look up and you are at the end of the tunnel.”

Annett has been training with his team-mates since the back end of last term as he looked to work his way back to full fitness.

“I could have rushed back for a couple of games last season,” Annett said.

“But the club took the approach that they would just target a good, healthy pre-season for me so I would start the season fit and ready to go.

“That is probably the reason why I was able to play 50-odd minutes on Saturday so that was a good decision in hindsight.”

With Jack Singleton (neck) injured, Annett was given the nod ahead of Joe Taufete’e to start in the front row against Wasps and he is now keen to stay there.

“I had to watch Jack and Joe play some really good rugby,” Annett said.

“That was hard but at the same time it was very motivating.

“They have both done incredibly well and Isaac (Miller) was doing brilliantly before he got hurt.

“You are either motivated or slightly put off by that.

“But it has motivated me to come back a better athlete and put in some good performances.”