Taulupe Faletau will be eased back into action by Bath on Friday night, eight days before he could return for Wales.
The Lions No.8 has not played since the opening day of the season when he injured knee ligaments on his Aviva Premiership debut.
But Wales and Bath have struck a deal that has seen Faletau released from the Wales squad in order to start his comeback against Bristol at The Rec on Friday.
Bath director of rugby and former All Black Todd Blackadder said: “Taulupe is ready to go. It’s more about managing minutes, having been out for so long.
“We’re not expecting him to be rampant and go for 80. Having Taulupe for the whole week gives him the very best opportunity to prepare and play, which is really important after being out for so long with his injury.
“I had really good chat with Rob Howley. We’re really grateful Taulupe has been released back to us with a view to playing this Friday night and getting some good game time before being available for Wales the week after.
“It’s a really good plan. It’s great that we’ve got a relationship with Wales where we can work for the good of the player,” Blackadder told the Bath Chronicle.
If Faletau comes through unscathed and looks sharp enough, then Howley could recall him to the team to face South Africa on November 26.
That would involve a reshuffle in the back row that might see Ross Moriarty lose out – or the Gloucester player moved from No.8 to blindside flanker and a straight fight between Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric for the No.7 shirt.
South Africa’s back row is the biggest in the world game, with three players over 18st packing down against England last week.
Faletau, 26, has been the unquestioned first choice for Wales for the past five years but the emergence of Moriarty has now given him a genuine rival.
Faletau’s decision to leave the Newport Gwent Dragons last season means he fills one of the three wild card squad selections available to players outside of Wales, alongside George North and Jamie Roberts.
Moriarty, however, is currently exempt from those rules as he signed his current club deal before they were introduced.
