WILLEM Nel is back in the Edinburgh team for the first time in nearly three months this afternoon, and appears to have recovered from injury just in time for the Six Nations Championship. The tighthead prop, who sustained a neck strain in October’s Challenge Cup win against Harlequins at Murrayfield, is in the line-up for this afternoon’s return match - in which an Edinburgh win will give them an excellent chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Nel was originally expected to be out of action for only a month, and his continued absence has led to speculation about his fitness for the Six Nations, which begins three weeks today when Scotland are at home to Ireland. But, after naming the 30-year-old forward in his squad, Edinburgh coach Duncan Hodge said he expected him to be available for the tournament.

“In terms of the way he’s played for Scotland over the past couple of years, if he gets fit and proves himself over the next couple of weeks you would think he had a very good chance,” Hodge said. “He’s been able to do a lot of training.

“He’s not been rushed back. Everything has been in place and planned. Hopefully he’s not rusty at all and we get a top performance out of him.

“It has never been definite when he would come back. When he got the all-clear he had to rehab before he got back playing and you never know how long that would take.

“He looks in great shape, and he’s happy. The next step is to play consistent rugby, which is great for Edinburgh and good for everyone.”

Loosehead prop Alasdair Dickinson, conversely, looks likely to miss Scotland’s opening game because of the foot injury he suffered in last month’s PRO12 game against Glasgow. Back-row forward John Hardie is another big doubt: he is expected to be back at the end of the month, but after next week’s game against Timisoara Harlequins Edinburgh do not play again until the eve of the Ireland match.

The Timisoara match, the first to be played at Myreside, should be a formality given the ease with which Edinburgh won in Romania earlier in the season. Today’s game against last season’s runners-up, however, will be altogether tougher, and Edinburgh go into it as underdogs. Scotland cap Ruaridh Jackson is on the bench for Harlequins, but there is no place for his international team-mate Tim Visser.

Edinburgh (v Harlequins at The Stoop, today, 3pm): B Kinghorn; D Hoyland, C Dean, P Burleigh, T Brown; D Weir, S Kennedy; A Dell, R Ford, W Nel, F McKenzie, B Toolis, M Bradbury, H Watson, C du Preez. Substitutes: N Cochrane, J Cosgrove, S Berghan, L Carmichael, V Mata, S Hidalgo-Clyne, J Tovey, M Allen.

Harlequins: M Brown; M Yarde, A Alofa, J Marchant, C Walker; T Swiel, D Care; D Murphy, R Buchanan, K Sinckler, G Merrick, C Matthews, J Chisholm, D Ward, J Clifford. Substitutes: J Gray, A Jones, M Shields, M Luamanu, L Wallace, K Dickson, R Jackson, M Hopper.