Published Thursday, 07 January 2010
At one stage the Ireland International looked set to be sidelined for the rest of the season following surgery on an injury to a disc.
It now looks like the 27-year-old could return to Ravenhill in March after the Six Nations as his training and rehabilitation begin to pay dividends.
"If I can continue to progress then maybe a return after the Six Nations is a strong possibility," Best said.
"But I think getting onto the pitch with the lads again was the best goal of the lot so far.
"The wee bit of contact was good, I took some hits. I got suited up in the vest, and although there were some concerns from the coaching team, the medical team said it had to be done at some point.
"It was only five or 10 minutes, but it was good to take hits full on, boys running at you trying to knock you over, which is great."