Heard from one of the managers (in October) that it partly depends on what he’s eligible for. Not sure if that was cleared up or not, but the thought was if he’s only eligible for 1 year, he’d redshirt this year and come back for a full year next year. If eligible for 2 they’d try to get him up to speed this year to play.
Keep in mind that even if he’s close to healthy right now, he hasn’t played in a year and obviously hasn’t practiced with the team. Wouldn’t be truly up to speed or in shape until late this year anyways.