Ryan Matterson is set to make his return from a concussion in NSW Cup with Parramatta taking a cautious approach to the second-rower's comeback.
Four weeks after he copped a heavy hit in the round-two win against Melbourne, Matterson is expected to play around 60 minutes for the Eels against South Sydney at Ringrose Park on Saturday.
For the past few weeks Matterson has been named in Brad Arthur's 21-man NRL squad but dropped out close to game day as he suffered recurring concussion symptoms.
He didn't fly with the team to play Brisbane in Darwin on Friday night but Arthur said Matterson is the most confident he has seen him over the past month.
"He's definitely playing this week but he'll be playing Cup," Arthur confirmed on Thursday.
"He'll get 60 minutes (on Saturday), avoided the travel, and this is the best way for him to come back.
"He bounced in on Tuesday, ready to go, and that was the most confident I've seen him.
"You can usually tell with body language, so I could tell he was ready to play.
"I told him what our plans were around playing reserve grade and he put his ego away and trained unreal."
Matterson has a complicated history with concussion and Arthur said there was no way he would risk playing him at anything less than 100 per cent recovered from his latest hit.
As a father of kids who play contact sports, Arthur said he was particularly careful with his players and their health.
"It's why we took the cautious approach," Arthur said.
"It was a nasty incident that happened to him and he's had a history of them.
"I'm all for the boys playing tough and getting out on the field not at 100 per cent but that's one area we won't run the gauntlet with.
"The club was on board with it and our doctors were right on board with it.
"As a dad, yes, but I feel like I'm a dad to all of them as well so it's part of my job."
The Eels are set to face the Broncos at TIO Stadium on Friday night in sweltering conditions in the Northern Territory.
They got a good taste of it during their captain's run on Thursday when both sides trained in 35-degree heat and intense humidity.
