SARACENS, lifted by victory over Rotherham on Saturday, received a further fillip this week when Fijian fly-half Nicky Little returned from the World Cup ahead of the visit of high-riding London Irish on Sunday.

The 27-year-old, who scored 46 points in Fiji’s four group matches, saw his tournament end on Saturday after a 22-20 defeat at the hands of Scotland, flew back from Australia yesterday and goes straight into the squad for Sunday’s clash with Irish where the Men in Black will be aiming to record successive victories for the first time this season.

The return of Little fortifies a back division denuded by injuries to Thomas Castaignede, Nathan McAvoy, Kevin Sorrell and Mark Bartholomeusz.

"Getting Nicky back is good news as it gives us some extra back-up in our back-line which has been badly hit by injuries," said head coach Rod Kafer.

"He flew in on Thursday (yesterday), will have a brief session with us on Saturday and will be in the 22 for Sunday.

"Nicky is a quality player and having played for his country he will be able to step in straight away. He’s one of those guys with a little bit of versatility.

"To be honest I haven’t seen enough of him to tell you his best position but he’ll get some opportunities to play a number of positions and then I’ll be able to make a judgement."

However, Kafer will not name the team until this afternoon (Friday), giving himself a chance to assess Little's fitness, as well as cast his eye over centre Denis Cech who has arrived at Vicarage Road on trial.

Cech, 29, a former French A international, arrives on the recommendation of fellow countryman Thomas Castaignede, and looks certain to play some part in Sunday's match. Cech currently plays his rugby at Colomiers, but has also turned out for Biarritz.