South Sydney flyer Nathan Merritt will make his long-awaited return to rugby league on Saturday for feeder team North Sydney.

The winger hasn’t played an NRL game this season because of a troublesome toe injury, but he’ll line up for the Bears at fullback against Western Suburbs at Henson Park.

Souths coach Michael Maguire said Merritt is still experiencing discomfort, but the club’s medical staff are hoping that with management, he can play through the pain.

Merritt is likely to play half a game for the Bears and the best-case scenario is he may be available for first-grade selection next week against North Queensland.

“I’ll just wait and see his performance and see how he’s travelling and see whether he feels comfortable in doing that,” Maguire told AAP.

“It’s more a wait and see how he gets through this game before I start deciding which way we want to go the following week.

“But we all know what Nath can do if he’s fit, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be putting a lot of pressure on the people in the squad.

“He’s only been running for just over two weeks but he’s still having a little bit of discomfort with the toe.

“It’s one of those injuries we’ll really have to monitor all year around. It’s going to be an ongoing issue for Nath but as long as we can manage the pain there’s no reason why he can’t be playing.”

Maguire said Merritt had his best-ever pre-season, and expects his improved fitness and strength to show when he returns to action.

“He’s definitely excited. He’s like a new person this week, been able to run around again. It’s been a very frustrating time for him but he’s been very patient and worked very hard in the background,” he said.