SHAUN PEARSON spoke of his relief after discovering he can continue to play his part in Wrexham's fight against relegation.

The Reds' skipper sustained a foot injury in Saturday's clash at Chesterfield and hobbled off immediately after the Spireites equalised for a second time.

Wrexham conceded again in added time as they suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat and it looked like there was a double-whammy with Pearson set for a spell on the sidelines.

However, those fears have been allayed following an x-ray and Pearson is set to be involved when Wrexham, two points above the drop zone with 12 games to go, host Torquay this weekend.

"It happened before we scored and I tried to carry on," said Pearson.

"I thought 'get through this corner and I am going to go off ', and they scored from the corner which was a bit of a killer.

"I feared the worst and thought it was broken at the time. Thankfully it is not.

"There is some swelling and bruising but as long as the swelling goes down, I will hopefully be able to get on with it on Saturday."

Pearson sustained the injury after battling with former Wrexham striker Mike Fondop who has apologised to his ex-captain.

"Mike text me on Sunday apologising and I said to him: 'you don't have to apologise, it is all part of the game', " said Pearson.

"I thought Mike played quite well.

"He also went into me [when Pearson needed first half treatment for a head cut] but he did it every day in training for a year so it is no different to a game!

"I think it is his clumsiness as much as anything rather than any intent. It is part of the battle."

Manager Dean Keates believes Pearson is getting back to his best and the centre-back is pleased with his recent performances, putting it down to a number of factors.

"People think you are playing a lot better but the structure within the team is a lot better and the organisation is better," said Pearson.

"That makes it easier to play well and I am pleased with my recent performances.

"Even though we conceded three goals on Saturday, I thought in general we played pretty well."

Although the three-game unbeaten run came to an end at Chesterfield and 19th placed Wrexham are hovering just above the bottom four, the Reds are also within touching distance of several teams above them in the table, including Torquay.

Victory would take Wrexham above the Gulls, who sit 15th, so Pearson doesn't need telling how important Saturday's game is.

"I think everybody up to Sutton in 14th is still looking over their shoulders," said Pearson.

"If we win on Saturday we can go above Torquay which is a big incentive.

"We have had that a few times and not taken advantage of it so it is important we try and do that, starting Saturday.

"If you get a win, hopefully you pull away again and put more teams between us and them places."

Pearson believes naivety cost Wrexham a point at Chesterfield, the Reds pushing for a winner themselves when the hosts struck at the death.

"The third one was frustrating for me," added Pearson. "I was sat on the bench and the lads were that eager to try and win the game, we ended up throwing a point away.

"There was a bit of naivety from us because a point was a much worse result for them than us.

"If somebody just fouls the keeper, the ball is put down, he kicks it and the referee blows the whistle.

"We would have been disappointed with 2-2 and in the end you throw it away completely.

"The good thing was the performance was there for everyone to see so hopefully we can take them performance levels into Saturday, a little bit more luck and take our chances a little bit more, and hopefully get three points."