Speculation is mounting that former All Black Aaron Cruden could be poised for a Super Rugby comeback after drawing a line under his career in France.
Cruden quit New Zealand rugby in 2017 for a three-year deal with Top 14 club Montpellier worth a reported $3.6 million.
The 30-year-old first five-eighth has signed on again - but only until November - as a 'medical joker' to cover the club until the end of the Rugby World Cup tournament in Japan.
A Planet Rugby report claimed Cruden - a former Chiefs captain - could be a target for the Hurricanes, who have lost All Blacks star Beauden Barrett to the Blues.
Montpellier announced on Friday that Cruden and former Springboks prop Jannie du Plessis would remain with the club until November.
Du Plessis will also carry out his off-field role as an academy coach.
Cruden played 50 tests for the All Blacks between 2010 and 2017, ending his international career during the British and Irish Lions series in 2017.
The Manawātu product played 114 Super Rugby games, starting with the Hurricanes before making his name with the Chiefs, who he helped to two Super Rugby titles.
The 2009 world junior rugby player of the year was a protege of Dave Rennie at Manawātu and the Chiefs and was reportedly linked to Rennie's Glasgow Warriors club last season.
Cruden, who was part of the All Blacks' winning 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup squads, was heralded as a marquee signing for Montpellier.
But a string of injuries have blighted his career in France, leading Montpellier's billionaire owner Mohed Altrad to express his frustration.
Altrad told French rugby website, Rugby Rama, last January: "Our outside half, since he's here, keeps hurting himself. This season he has been injured four times. It is difficult for him to be efficient. We hoped for something else."