Mike Phillips could make his return to action against the Dragons of Friday © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Mike Phillips

Teams: Ospreys | Wales

Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is set to make his long-awaited return to Celtic League action for the Ospreys against Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday.

Phillips has been out of action since sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury during last season's Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final win over Saracens. He has been offered some reassuring words from Wales and Ospreys skipper Ryan Jones ahead of his return, with Jones telling him not to expect to scale the heights straight away.

"It is tough to hit form again after such a big injury," Jones told The Western Mail. "It's probably because you want it so badly. "It may take one game, five games, or it may take 10. It just depends and there may be one or two technical aspects that take a while to come back. But you are only ever one game away from form, though.

"The thing about Mike is that he has a great understanding of the game and he will go from strength to strength over the next few weeks."

Prior to his injury, Phillips was enjoying the form of his life after nailing down the Wales scrum-half jersey during their Six Nations Grand Slam, finally overtaking long-time rival Dwayne Peel in the pecking order. Phillips' combination of pace and raw physicality sets him apart from most scrum-halves currently operating in the northern hemisphere, and he now faces a race to be fit for Wales' Six Nations bid and also the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa at the end of the season.

"It's great for everyone to have Mike back," said Jones. "I've seen the turmoil he has been through and for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel is brilliant. He is looking sharp and it's fantastic for us as a region. He is one of those guys you turn to and he performs on the big occasion.

"I hope he gets fit and then he can carry that form onto international honours and maybe even more with the Lions in the summer."

Ospreys Head Coach Sean Holley, who has named Phillips on the bench for Friday's derby, had some words of warning for fans expecting an immediate impact.

"Don't expect too much, too soon from Mike," Holley also told The Western Mail. "He has had a long layoff. The standards that he reached before his injury were pretty high. I've no doubt he will get back to that and maybe beyond, but let's see a gradual improvement first.

"I can't say how long it will take because I don't know. All I know is that he has prepared himself superbly well and he is ready to start a game or come off the bench now. But it's going to take him a few games to get up to match fitness and match sharpness before we see the Mike Phillips we all know."

Phillips' enthusiasm and determination appears to have won over Holley, who admits to some reservations about throwing him back into the fray.

"I am trying to keep Mike down, but I can't," Holley said. "Perhaps it's a big game to bring him back into, but he is ready. He has trained hard and been very professional with his rehab.

"So I think it's right to give him some game-time. The sooner the better as far as he and the Ospreys are concerned. But at the same time we have to tread carefully with him, be patient and give him a bit of time. He has been off for a long time.

"It's great to see him running around so freely, though. I think it's right for Mike to come back this week."

The Ospreys also welcome back Gavin Henson, who missed last weekend's Heineken Cup appointment with Treviso to be with his girlfriend, singer Charlotte Church, who is due to give birth. Henson has fully recovered from the Achilles problem that ruled him out of Wales' autumn series and starts at full-back.