I think there is no choice but to pick him. He's not a rookie, not like your scheduling the right team for his debut. He just needs to get back out there and for me the sooner the better. Just chuck him on the wing and go from there. Who knows what will happen but I bet its entertaining.
One of my concerns that may affect Xerri is his tackling technique regarding hip drops. Being a centre he will often have to hold and then slide to make tackles making prone to tacking side-on and trying to drag down players that get outside him.
Lucky for him, he has pace. But most other players have had a good year or couple of pre-seasons to get accustomed to when hip drops can occur especially in gang tackles.
He also has to get in sync with how his inside and outside defenders tackle. Some go high (Kikau, Burton) some go low (Preston, Mahoney), some don't tackle at all and go for intercepts (JAC)..... He'll need to understand the nuances of his teammates and how fatigue affects their defensive techniques.
There's a whole lot of behind the scenes stuff that make a player and decision making what it is.
I certainly hope he can be a shining light.