Blues star Ma’a Nonu will join up with his new team later this week after finishing his stint in Japan.
Nonu’s Ricoh Black Rams side have been eliminated from the Japanese club competition, paving the way for the All Black to make his return to New Zealand.
Blues coach Pat Lam says Nonu will be given time to settle into the team before playing his first match.
"We will get our medical people to do an assessment on Ma'a and watch how he goes," Lam says.
"He'll come here and get set up in Auckland and back into the swing of things.
"We'd like to think that all being well, Ma'a will be ready to travel with us for the games in Africa. That will give him some good time to learn our systems, get into our environment and and get involved."
The Blues will open their Super Rugby campaign against the Crusaders on Friday, before matches against the Chiefs and the Bulls.
3 Sport