Alex Cuthbert will return to action this weekend and three of his British & Irish Lions teammates are close to joining him on the field according to Cardiff Blues director of rugby Phil Davies.
Cuthbert started and scored in the first Lions Test against Australia in Brisbane but that clash on June 22 remains his last taste of action.
Davies will welcome the wing back into the fold against Connacht on Friday but full-back Leigh Halfpenny, man of the tour Down Under, is still a little shy of match fitness and will miss out.
“It’s great to have Alex back,” Davies told Wales Online. “Leigh is still a week off. He’s on a conditioning programme.
“We were hoping to have him available this week. He did a bit of testing last week, which was in the programme, and he’s just a little bit sore.
“He’s not quite right. It’s just a case of giving him a couple more days and hopefully he will be ready next week.”
Gethin Jenkins and Sam Warburton are also likely to follow suit once they have recovered from injury.
Prop Jenkins, who was forced home from the Lions tour without playing a game due to injury, is close to returning from a calf problem.
Meanwhile Warburton remains on course for an October return following the hamstring tear that ruled him out of the final Test against Australia.
“Sam is on track from what the early prognosis was, but he’s looking really good,” added Davies.
“He’s running a bit further now than perhaps we thought. Gethin and Sam are progressing well. They are both in good shape.
“It’s a case of not putting too much pressure on them in terms of the time-scale.
“They have both had long injuries. So we’ve got to make sure they are ready to come back.”
