Joining Tshituka from injury is playmaker Jordan Hendrikse, who forms part of the match day 23 and could get an opportunity to feature from the replacements bench.

Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen welcomed the return of his two squad members: “We are pleased to have Vince and Jordan back in the VURC setup. They’ve recovered and trained well over the past few weeks, so we look forward to their involvement once more.”

Van Rooyen lauded his side’s effort against the Vodacom Bulls a week ago, which he believes bodes well come Saturday against an opposition they got the better of before the festive break.

“As a group we felt our overall attitude and intensity went up a notch against the Bulls. It’s the kind of momentum we’re eager to take into Saturday on the back of a positive week of training,” he added.

Elsewhere, inside centre Burger Odendaal makes a return to the starting XV after missing the trip to Pretoria last week due to concussion protocols. Seasoned prop JP Smith could get an opportunity to make his competition debut.

Kick-off is at 15h00 and the match will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Emirates Lions: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Ruhan Straeuli, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Ruan Dreyer. Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Wandisile Simelane.