Queensland Reds and Wallabies scrumhalf Tate McDermott is set to end his long stint on the sidelines as he makes his return via club Rugby.
McDermott will suit up for Uni of Queensland on Saturday against Souths after overcoming a long-term hamstring injury.
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The return via Hospital Cup will be significant for the McDermott family, with his brother, Flynn, a regular fixture for the Red Heavies.
The Wallaby last played in September after suffering a significant hamstring injury during the opening Bledisloe Cup match.
"We had a good chat about what he'd like to do and we felt the best thing was for him to play some minutes for Queensland Uni," coach Les Kiss said.
"Flynn [McDermott] is also going to play so that's another bonus that he can play with his brother at UQ."
It was McDermott’s first long-term injury of his career, undergoing significant surgery to reattach the hamstring muscle.
"I've been incredibly fortunate to never be injured in my career, and never even had a hamstring strain or anything like that but I'm well across what it looks like now and I've been in the gym for six months trying to get my hammies going again,” he said last month.
"...I had to get it surgically reattached, so pretty much when it came off my pelvis, I had to staple it back on, and then all the complications that come with learning to run again and making sure that the muscles in and around that hamstring don't do too much or don't do too little
“I've been incredibly fortunate to never get injured in my career and never even had a hamstring strain or anything like that, but I'm well aware of what it looks like now.”
The news is timely, with powerful prop Massimo De Lutiis making his Super Rugby debut on Saturday against the Western Force.
De Lutiis has been building up his minutes at clubland, coming straight back into the starting side.
It comes with Kiss resting a host of Wallabies for the trip west, including Fraser McReight, Filipo Daugunu, Josh Flook and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, with Salakaia-Loto staying home with his wife expecting their third child.
Further changes see Carter Gordon start at flyhalf, with John Bryant starting at openside flanker and Harry Wilson taking the captaincy, while lock Charlie Brosnan is also set for his debut off the bench.
"The Force have had some very impressive victories and the Reds have a history of tough, tight matches against them in Perth,” Kiss added.
“We had some impressive parts to our game against the Chiefs last round and we've kept pushing for improvements this week. We are looking forward to taking on the Force this Saturday night."
REDS (1-15): George Blake, Josh Nasser, Massimo De Luttis, Hamish Muller, Seru Uru, Joe Brial, Joe Bryant, Harry Wilson (c), Louis Werchon, Carter Gordon, Lachie Anderson, Hunter Paisami, Isaac Henry, Tim Ryan, Jock Campbell
Replacements: Matt Faessler, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Zane Nonggorr, Charlie Brosnan, Vaiuta Latu, Kalani Thomas, Ben Volavola, Treyvon Pritchard
