All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter will make his comeback to rugby after a six months lay-off in a minor club match in a rural Canterbury province on Saturday.

Carter will play for the Southbridge club, where he began his career, in a local championships match against Glenmark. The 32-year-old, who was allowed a “sabbatical” as part of his contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union, said he does not expect to play a full 80 minutes.

He said he will “just ease my way back into it on what will more than likely be a heavy, wet track. I am probably only looking at 40 minutes or so, but it will just be good to get some game time.”

Carter played for Southbridge in 2009 when he returned from an Achilles tendon injury.