Return ... Quade Cooper is set to sign a new contract with the ARU. Source: News Limited
Quade Cooper will stick with Australian rugby and launch a full-on tilt at a Test return against the Lions in June.
Sources indicate Cooper's five-month contract saga has finally been thrashed out to the point an upbeat conclusion is expected to be unveiled on Friday.
It is a huge step forward from a week ago when Cooper's manager Khoder Nasser said there had been a "total communication breakdown" with the Australian Rugby Union.
Queensland Rugby Union chief executive Jim Carmichael was spotted having dinner with Cooper at the trendy James Street precinct in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley on Monday.
Carmichael may well have had "catch of the day" from the menu if he has helped heal the rift between the governing body and the playmaker, who was fined $40,000 for his outbursts mid-season.
Enigmatic flyhalf Cooper said last week that the ARU offer in front of him was one "I won't accept", so the assumption must be that some of the incentive-based components of his top-up have been replaced with guarantees.
It is a win for both the Queensland Reds and the Wallabies.
While Kurtley Beale has performed ably as a flyhalf in recent Tests, Cooper has major plusses that no other No.10 in the country possesses when he is in top form and focus. Regaining that poise is his next big step.
The Reds will play their opening trial of the year on February 2 in Toowoomba against the Auckland Blues, which means Cooper will be in for a busy week.
He will be groomed to play part of the trial before making his boxing debut six days later at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on February 8.
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