Cardiff Rugby boss Dai Young says Wales duo Liam Williams and Josh Navidi are edging closer to a return to action ahead of the upcoming festive programme.
Williams, a marquee summer signing for the Blue and Blacks, has been sidelined ever since his debut was cut short by a shoulder injury back in September.
The 31-year-old stayed down after finding himself on the receiving end of a tackle by Munster's Calvin Nash, and later had surgery on his collarbone. The issue ruled him out of Wales' autumn campaign, and he was also considered a doubt for the upcoming festive schedule.
However, he could now be in line for a run out over the next couple of weeks, with Young suggesting the full-back is now approaching the end of his rehabilitation.
It is also good news for new Wales boss Warren Gatland, with Williams likely to be back in the Six Nations mix, and it will go some way to soften the blow of Gareth Anscombe missing the opening rounds of the competition.
"I think Liam will definitely feature over one of the festive games," Young said. "He's coming to the end of his rehab. He's getting very close now and it's just a matter of getting some real hard training into him."
Young is also hopeful of having Navidi back in the new year, with the flanker suffering a 'neurological neck injury' during the final Test with South Africa over the summer.
He too has gone under the knife in a bid to get himself fit and firing, and Young insists there's every chance of him getting back into action soon.
"Josh's neck didn't progress as quickly as everyone wanted so the operation was necessary. But he is feeling a lot better now, he's been cracking on with his rehab and is in a much better place.
"He should be back in the new year, so he's not too far away either."
Elsewhere, Young is set to be boosted by the return of his other Welsh internationals ahead of Saturday's European Challenge Cup clash with Brive at the Arms Park on Saturday.
Dillon Lewis, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams, Rhys Priestland and Josh Adams all missed Cardiff's reasonably successful trip to Durban and Pretoria due to their international commitments, but have returned to the fold this week.
Matthew Morgan and Rey Lee-Lo are also back in contention, while Max Llewellyn and Theo Cabango could also be involved, despite picking up ankle niggles during the 35-0 victory over Cell C Sharks.
Speaking ahead of the squad's departure from Pretoria, Young added: "The guys that took bumps out here (South Africa), if it had been a seven day turnaround, they may have made it. People like Max Llewellyn wasn't too far away, he will be in contention, Theo Cabango will be in contention.
"It's probably a week too early for Laney but Nipper (Matthew Morgan) will be fit and obviously we have the Welsh internationals who have been away. They have all come through unscathed.
"Rey Lee-Lo will be fine. He is another that will come back into the mix so we will have a stronger squad to pick from and probably a more recognised 23 than it was against the Bulls
"We will certainly have eight to 10 players available for next week to add to what we have here."
READ NEXT:
