Legendary All Black Ian Jones will make his Wasps debut in tomorrow's Heineken Cup clash against Stade Francais at Loftus Road.

The 79 times-capped lock, lured out of retirement by Wasps boss Nigel Melville, packs down alongside England international Simon Shaw for a tough pool two assignment.

Despite Jones' eagerly-waited arrival though, Wasps are still plagued by injuries, with Lawrence Dallaglio, Paul Volley, Peter Scrivener, Alex King and Martyn Wood among those sidelined.

Matt Leek and Mike Friday forge the half-back combination, while Jones is joined up-front by his former New Zealand Test team colleague Craig Dowd.

Wasps, who have lost three of their opening four Premiership matches and are just two points above bottom club Bath, must make home advantage count in a tough qualifying group that also includes Ulster and Treviso.

Stade are determined to go one better than last season, when they reached the Heineken Cup final but lost 34-30 against Leicester in an unforgettable match at Parc des Princes.

"We are not over it yet," conceded Stade's mercurial Italian Test fly-half Diego Dominguez.

"But we are going to have wake up pretty quickly for this first match. We are getting better, yet we know that we've got to step up a gear on Sunday.

"We desperately want to win the Heineken Cup but it will be harder for us to reach the final again because everyone knows a lot more about us now."

Stade's major summer signing was French international scrum-half Fabien Galthie from Colomiers, and his partnership with Dominguez is a critical feature of the Paris club's European campaign.

"There is a very good understanding between us," Dominguez added. "He is a fine international player, a real character and very professional."

A win tomorrow and Stade should have one foot in the quarter-finals given that three of their remaining five games are on home soil at Stade Jean Bouin, but Wasps have just as much to play for, even though early-season form suggests they've got a mountain to climb.

There are three games in the Parker Pen European Shield tomorrow, with Bristol visiting Bourgoin, Rovigo hosting Montauban and Madrid 2012 tackling Colomiers.