Virgil van Dijk will play for Southampton's under-23 side on Monday as he continues to build up his match fitness.
Van Dijk, 26, returned to team training this week, having trained by himself after handing in a transfer request to Southampton last month in an attempt to force an exit from the club.
The Netherlands international was linked with clubs including Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, but a summer move failed to materialise.
Van Dijk has not played for Southampton since sustaining an ankle injury in January, but manager Mauricio Pellegrino says the defender will feature for the club's second-string side on Monday against Aston Villa at the Bescot Stadium.
"Virgil is coming from a long period of time without playing a game. This is my concern right now," Pellegrino is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
"He will play Monday in the reserve team. We try to help him to be ready to help the team. He was training well this week. Now everything is normal."
Van Dijk was absent on Saturday as Southampton suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season, going down 2-0 at home to Watford.