Heinrich Brüssow is set to be named Cheetahs captain when he returns to Bloemfontein from Japan.

The openside flank plays for the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes, who meet the Toyota Verblitz in the first round of the Japanese play-offs on 25 January.

'We will use our friendly matches to give a few players the opportunity [to lead], but we are also waiting for Heinrich Brüssow to return from overseas,' Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie told The Times. 'We want to talk to him about the captaincy. We will make a decision at a later stage.'

Brüssow would take the leadership reigns from Adriaan Strauss, who is now with the Bulls.

The Cheetahs will play three pre-season matches against the Bulls in Polokwane (24 January), Stormers in Cape Town (30 January) and Griffons in Welkom (31 January), before opening their Vodacom Super Rugby campaign against the Sharks in Durban on 14 February.

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images