Wales number eight Dan Baker signs for Dragons

The 28-year-old has been training with the region while the paperwork is being completed and was in line to make his debut against Edinburgh last Friday before the fixture was postponed because of a frozen pitch.

The powerful back rower left the Ospreys last summer and has been playing for Stade Montois in France’s Pro D2.

READ MORE: Dragons confirm Baker deal

The French club announced in January that Baker, who won two caps against Japan in the summer of 2013 then played against Ireland in a 2015 World Cup warm-up, had been released for family reasons.

He has signed a short-term deal with the Dragons until the end of the campaign and will provide a different sort of ball-carrying threat.

The move is timely with director of rugby Dean Ryan without Aaron Wainwright because of the Six Nations and his fellow Wales international Ross Moriarty is on the comeback trail from autumn ankle surgery.

In-form Harri Keddie would have missed the PRO14 clash with Edinburgh after a head injury against Connacht last weekend while his replacement Lewis Evans finished the game but suffered a calf strain.

The Dragons are already without Ollie Griffiths (ankle) and Taine Basham (fractured forearm) along with Lennon Greggains (shoulder) and James Benjamin (leg).

The long list of absentees has led to an opportunity for Baker to reignite his career in Wales, one that was derailed by injury misfortune.

The number eight from Ystradgynlais suffered a horror knee injury in October 2017 that needed two operations and ruled him out until September 2019, when he then suffered a should blow that sidelined him for another three months.