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IT says everything about Kevin Davies that he will lead the Wanderers attack against Sunderland at the Reebok tomorrow, with or without a cast on his broken left hand.

For five seasons, the combative striker has played such a pivotal role that, when x-rays confirmed he had cracked a number of bones as well as dislocating a finger during his matchwinning performance against West Ham, they were effectively condemned to relegation by their main rivals.

Already suspended for the games at Middlesbrough and Spurs and requiring surgery to repair the damage, rumours that he was finished for the season spread like wildfire.

Ironically, Wanderers picked up four points in his absence to match their "best" away sequence of the season (only once before had they strung together a win and a draw on their travels).

But that hasn't deterred Gary Megson from confirming that he will go straight back in for the big one, regardless of Grzegorz Rasiak putting in "good shifts" as the manager described the Pole's performances at the Riverside and White Hart Lane.

Wanderers must beat Sunderland to stand any realistic chance of Premiership survival, and, such is the importance he attaches to having Davies on board, that nothing so "trivial" as a cracked bone or two could prevent him being one of the first names on the team sheet.

You could almost hear the sighs of disappointment at Reading, Fulham and Birmingham when Davies announced he was ready for action again.

"Unbeknown to us at the time, there were people at other clubs who thought that was the end of us," Megson said, reflecting on the various twists and turns in the battle for survival since that fateful West Ham game, when Davies picked up his two-match ban and an injury for good measure.

"But, given the fixtures and the problems we had (Jaaskelainen, Gardner and Hunt already out for the season) you'd take four points from two away games.

"Kevin was suspended anyway so breaking his hand was immaterial as far as we were concerned, although it obviously wasn't for him because it was very painful.

"But I found out that another football club thought that was the end of it for us.

"Thankfully, that wasn't the case. A lot of people thought we were down, but a lot of people thought Fulham were down playing a Manchester City side I knew didn't have a back four to choose from.

"I actually thought they would beat City and they did, although by the same token I expected Wigan to beat Reading."

Wanderers have had a light cast specially moulded to protect Davies's healing hand and are confident that match referee Martin Atkinson will approve.

Even if he doesn't, wild horses won't keep Davies out of the team.

"Kevin's been training with a really small cast on," Megson said, acknowledging that Davies typifies the determination that has kept Wanderers in the survival race when all hope seemed lost.

"But he will play, with or without it.

"I really don't think anything was ever going to stop him, given the sort of person that he is.

"There's a few of them here who have played with injections and played when, ordinarily, you wouldn't expect them to play.

"There are a few like that and Kevin comes into that category."

5:45am Friday 2nd May 2008

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