Ospreys hooker Scott Baldwin missed his side's PRO14 defeat to the Cheetahs on Friday after he was bitten by a lion.
Baldwin needed stitches at a local hospital Thursday, following the incident which occurred during a visit to a game park in Bloemfontein and left him with a laceration to his hand.
The Wales hooker remained in hospital during his side's 44-25 defeat at Toyota Stadium but Ospreys confirmed afterwards that he would be released in time to travel back to Wales with the rest of the squad on Saturday morning.
Stroke the Lion it'll be fine they said! Here's @scottbaldwin2 petting a lion like it's a pet cat! pic.twitter.com/Y95FObGeJ5
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) September 29, 2017
"There was an incident with a lion, but in fairness it was nothing to do with the lion," head coach Steve Tandy said.
"He did bite Scott but when you put your hand in a fence where there is a lion, then you will get bitten."
Tandy added: "It was pretty stupid on Scott's behalf and he is pretty lucky. It had nothing to do with where we were. It was a good environment and we were told how far back to stand.
"I don't know what sort of wildlife show Scott has been watching where you can pat a lion on the head as if it's a kitten. It's probably one of the silliest things I've even been involved in, but thankfully he is okay and hopefully he will be back up and running in the next couple of weeks."
Baldwin's Ospreys teammate Keelan Giles posted a picture on Instagram of him holding a lion cub prior to the incident.
"The team doctor treated a laceration and, subsequently, [Baldwin] was admitted to a local hospital in Bloemfontein on Thursday evening for further treatment to prevent infection," an Ospreys statement read.
"He will be released on Saturday morning to travel home with the rest of the squad as planned."