Cape Town - The Cheetahs are wary of the exploits of Highlanders flyhalf Mike Delany ahead of their Super Rugby clash in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The 29-year-old recently joined the New Zealand outfit from Japan's Panasonic Wild Knights after they lost Colin Slade (leg) and Lima Sopoaga (shoulder) earlier in the season.

Delany's return was also delayed, as he himself had to recover from injuries.

But he has since been a revelation at the Dunedin-based outfit and Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie fears he could be a huge threat come Saturday.

Delany was instrumental in the Highlanders' narrow 30-27 home win over the Blues last week, a game in which he contributed 20 of his side's points.

"Delany played for the Chiefs for a long time and is a very versatile player. The Highlanders are lucky to have a guy of his quality after all their injuries at flyhalf," Fourie told Volksblad.

"He is definitely worth a lot on attack and is a physical player.

"He makes the Highlanders' backline just that little bit more dangerous," said Fourie.

The clash at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 17:05 on Saturday.

Teams:

Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cameron Jacobs, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen

Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 George Earle, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Philip Snyman

Highlanders:

TBA