The Ospreys hope Jeff Hassler, their very own backline missile, will end 10 months of injury misery by making an imminent return to rugby.
The Canadian World Cup man has been sidelined by an Achilles problem since last October.
But he is finally ready to resume with the away friendly with Leicester Tigers on Friday week pencilled in for his comeback.
“Jeff will probably feature up in Leicester,” said head coach Steve Tandy.
“What will he bring? He’ll run through a brick wall for you.
“He’s been great.
“Everyone sees Jeff as a bruiser, but he’s underestimated and does a lot of smart things with his subtlety, his ability to communicate and his understanding of the game.
“He’s a point of difference and aerially he’s spot on.
“He had a run of 35 to 40 games for us at one stage, so we are hopeful he’ll be able to put another one together.”
The Ospreys have missed Hassler acutely.
While Keelan Giles and others performed well out wide last term, the Liberty Stadium region were missing an explosive strike-runner who could come off his wing and challenge defences with raw power.
Hanno Dirksen could do that job, but he is another one who has been plagued by injuries.
When Hassler is fit and firing, he gives the Ospreys an extra dimension.
His problem is that since suffering a knee injury while playing for Canada in 2014 he has rarely been out of the treatment room, making just 15 appearances over the past two seasons.
The Ospreys are gradually reducing their casualty list, believing Dan Lydiate (shoulder) and James King (ankle) could return against Munster in Swansea on September 16.
“Lyds has really improved over the past week, while Kingy is up and running,” said Tandy.
“They were around a training session we did last Friday.
“It’ll be a push for them to get back for the opening two rounds in the PRO14.
“They’ll probably return for round three.”
The Ospreys continue to insist there is nothing to report on Dan Biggar despite speculation linking him with an end-of-season move to Northampton.
“He’s on holidays and is going to come back in next week to get across some rugby detail,” said Tandy.
“The only thing we are worried about at the minute is getting him back in rugby.
“He was on the phone on Friday and is pretty excited about coming back in and pushing on.”
