Ireland centre Bundee Aki is "good to go" and will be in the mix for Connacht's Champions Cup clash with Bordeaux Begles on Friday, head coach Pete Wilkins has confirmed.
Shortlisted for the World Rugby Player of the Year award, the 33-year-old hasn't played since Ireland's quarter-final loss to New Zealand in France on 14 October.
However, he has recovered from a hamstring injury ahead of schedule and is likely to be included against the French Top14 outfit.
"Bundee is available and he's good to go, which is great news for us and great news for him," Wilkins told RTÉ Sport.
"That hamstring wasn't an acute injury that had caused any issues but it was something that had lingered for him.
"It had been managed really well during that World Cup period and we just wanted to use this window to get it right for him.
"So he's worked really hard on it, probably ahead of schedule in terms of the hard work he's put in and the support he's had around him from the medical staff.
"[We're] really pleased with how he's tracked and he'll be in the mix this week."
The 52-cap New Zealand-born back (above) was Ireland's standout player of the tournament, scoring five tries in five games and was named player of the match against Tonga and South Africa.
On how he has settled back in since the tournament ended, Wilkins said: "He's probably in that strange place that some of the Irish players have found themselves inhabiting.
"In the sense that's he full of confidence and delighted on a personal level with the form he's shown but still absolutely devastated in terms of the final outcome for the team and their progression in the World Cup.
"He's dealt with that disappointment.
"I don't think it will ever leave him or them but he's channeled it into doing his rehab really well, getting himself physically good to go and then we'll channel it into his performances for us.
"There are matches for him here and matches on the horizon for Ireland when the time comes. But he's in a good space mentally and we're really excited about having him back."
Connacht lost 24-22 to Leinster at the weekend and will issue a full medical update on Tuesday but Wilkins said full-back Tiernan O'Halloran (ankle) and forward Oisin Dowling (shoulder) are "both in doubt", while prop Jack Aungier also rolled an ankle in the BKT URC defeat.
Bordeaux, who beat Oyonnax away at the weekend, boast France internationals Damian Penaud, Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert, Yoram Moefana and Louis Bielle-Biarrey among their number and Wilkins said that such star power coming to the Sportsground only adds to the excitement around the fixture.
"They certainly have some star names and that's part of the excitement for us, for the club and the supporters in terms of the opposition coming. We can't wait to come up against them," said Wilkins, whose side face a trip to Saracens in round two.
"It's a bit of a balance. We can't be so naive as to not do due diligence on their strengths and what makes some of those players tick and also where some of the opportunities are around them as well.
"At the same time you want to make sure that the overall game plan and mindset is focused around what we can control.
"The way I like to look at it is 'we should never be beaten by the opposition's main strength'.
"I think it was Craig Bellamy from the Melbourne Storm who first said that and I love that mindset, being really aware of what makes them effective and make sure we've got a plan for that but also back our game, that if we deliver that in the way we want to then we'll cause them some problems as well."
Watch highlights of the weekend's action on Against the Head, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, 8pm
Watch Munster v Bayonne in the Champions Cup on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
