Josh Navidi could make a surprise return in the final two rounds of the 2022 Guinness Six Nations and bolster Wales’ back-row options.
The flanker suffered a dislocated shoulder in early October and was originally expected to miss the entire Championship.
However, Dai Young, Navidi’s coach at Cardiff, believes he could return to club action for the trip to Ulster, which is just one week before Round 4 of the Guinness Six Nations.
Young said: “Josh is not too far away. He’s back in non-contact training this week, just to get amongst it really.
“I wouldn’t rule out him being fit and raring to go for Ulster. That would be the earliest and things really do need to fall into place for that to happen.
“We are not going to rush him, but he’s done so much work. When you see him out there, it looks like he’s never been away.”
The Ulster game, part of the United Rugby Championship, is on March 4 and falls on the Guinness Six Nations’ second rest weekend.
Should Navidi feature then, he could make his Wales comeback in Round 4 against France on March 11, or in Round 5 against Italy on March 19.
Navidi’s potential return is the latest positive injury news for Wales, who began the Guinness Six Nations missing eight British and Irish Lions with a combined 726 caps.
They included Navidi and fellow back-row Taulupe Faletau, who made his comeback from an ankle injury for Bath last weekend.
Elsewhere, backs Josh Adams (calf) and Willis Halaholo (hamstring) are expected to be available for the Round 3 game against England, having been side-lined for the Round 2 clash with Scotland.
They return to a team in good spirits after Wales responded to a an opening-day defeat to Ireland by beating Scotland 20-17.
