Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill has insisted that Tom Croft's comeback will be gradually managed after defeating London Welsh.
Saturday was Croft's third start since returning from a neck injury sustained last April and the England flanker could face Harlequins next weekend.
"Tom Croft is sharp, he's a quality player, we know his abilities in the loose but he's not played much in eight months but he'll get better," said Cockerill.
"He's got pace and at times we need that to get us out of some sticky moments but it's all positive for me but we do need to be patient."
"We'll take the medical advice on Tom, I know it would have been Harlequins next week but if it's medically right to play him we'll play him."
Leicester ran in three tries in their 28-12 victory over Welsh, enough to move them top of the table before Harlequins played later on Saturday.
"Obviously there are things that we could have done better and could have made things easier for ourselves but it's about winning at the end of the day," added Cockerill.
"We got the four points and at the end of the season nobody will care about the weather or the game, it's international week so nobody cares as long as we win."
"Obviously you would like more and potentially the five points but at the start of the day if you'd offered me four points and no significant injuries then I'd have taken it. Welsh are a hard side to play against."
London Welsh boss Lyn Jones was frustrated with his side's indiscipline and blamed a poor first half for his side's struggles. The loss leaves Welsh just six points above the relegation zone following wins for Sale and London Irish over the weekend.
"We were hugely disappointed with our first-half performance and we were undisciplined and gave far too much away to Leicester," said Jones.
"Second half we came back into it and came quite close but we didn't get out of the 22 as much as we wanted to.
"We came back strong, put a lot of phases together, played some enterprising rugby but just failed to cross."
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