Leicester Tigers could welcome back two top players for their do-or-die Heineken Cup clash with the Ospreys on Sunday.
Louis Deacon (shoulder) and Geordan Murphy (knee) are both battling to regain fitness ahead of the clash at Welford Road.
If they make the cut, it will be a huge boost to a Tigers squad that needs to beat their old Welsh rivals in order to maintain their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals after an opening round defeat in Toulouse.
Director of rugby Richard Cockerill was keeping his cards close to his chest about team selection but did admit that two of his most experienced campaigners are very much in the frame.
"Louis Deacon, inset, played on Monday night in the A League and has put himself in the mix, which will be good for us experience wise," said Cockerill. "Geordan Murphy is getting somewhere near and is training with us today so he should be there or thereabouts – but Julian Salvi (broken hand) is still a couple of weeks away."
Cockerill also revealed a delay in Tom Croft's recovery from a neck injury he picked up in the win over Harlequins at The Stoop last season.
There was talk in sections of the media last week that the 26-year-old could be back at the end of October. But Cockerill said they were more likely to see their blindside flanker at the start of December.
"Tom had an X-ray on his neck, and it is healing pretty well, but not as quick as we would like. He is still probably six weeks away, which is a little bit behind schedule," said Cockerill.
"But there is no rush with Tom, it was a pretty serious injury and it is healing up well but not fully healed so his turn has been held back a few weeks. That's life and he needs to be 100 per cent."
Tigers host an Ospreys side who opened their Pool Two campaign with a bonus point win at home to Treviso in round one.
It is the latest chapter in a rivalry that has seen plenty of excitement and controversy during their meetings in the Heineken Cup.
"It's a massive game and we have to win," said Cockerill. "But then again, if we had picked up one, two or even four points in Toulouse, we would still have had to win this one."
