Evans returned to competitive action last weekend for Scottish Hydro Premier One club Glasgow Hawks after overcoming a knee injury.

Scotland Under-20 lock Richie Gray also gets his first start of the season after recovering from an elbow injury sustained while on the pre-season tour of France.

Glasgow head coach Sean Lineen believes the pair’s return can help inspire a home win for the Warriors, who are aiming to bounce back from consecutive Heineken Cup defeats against Biarritz and Newport Gwent Dragons.

He said: “We’re really looking forward to them coming back. Max is a quality player. He adds another dimension to outside-centre play with his ability to beat his opposite man and has a little bit more experience now. He got a taste of Scotland action last year and wants to get back in there.

“Richie Gray played against Connacht in his first game last season and made a big impact, literally. He’s a big lad. He’s young but creates a pretty potent second-row combination with Al Kellock and I’m looking forward to seeing that work.”

Dave McCall and Tim Barker drop out for Glasgow as their squad continues to return to full strength.

“It’s been a pretty testing time this past month - 24 guys with the flu in total on top of some injuries - but the players that have come in have done a great job,” Lineen added.

“We’re still doing really well in the Magners League. In fact, there’s only one team that’s had more wins than us (Munster), so we’re up there despite really testing the squad.

“The team spirit has always been fantastic at Glasgow. We’ve never given up and there’s always been an edge to our game.

“The players have never lost their belief. We just to need make teams work a lot harder to get any form of points, build on that pressure, take our points when they’re due and go into this game against Connacht and get a good win.”