Thomson was named in the 28-man All Black squad for the Rugby Championship but has been left out of the squad for the first two games of the series.
To get some playing time, the loose forward will turn out for Otago against Northland in the ITM Cup match at Forsyth Barr Stadium today.
Thomson, who has racked up 27 tests for the All Blacks since making his debut in 2008, is at the end of a two-year contract with the Highlanders and there is talk he may look at a move to the Blues next year.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph said it was up to Thomson where he would play his rugby next year.
The Highlanders would like the strapping flanker back, Joseph said, but Thomson had a big decision to make on his future.
As far as Joseph was concerned, Thomson had not committed to any team or made a decision to head overseas.
Suggestions he might look to shift to the Blues were news to Joseph.
New Blues coach John Kirwan announced his coaching team this week. Former All Black coach Graham Henry is coming on board, and the franchise will be aggressively chasing new players.
Thomson (30) has stayed loyal to the Highlanders, and it would be hard for fans to see him leaving the franchise for another New Zealand team.
He could have joined the Crusaders a couple of years ago but decided to stick with the Highlanders, and became one of the key players as the side made advances over the past two seasons.
One player who is definitely moving on is Nick Crosswell, who has signed with the Chiefs.
Joseph said Crosswell wanted to play blindside flanker and his path was blocked at the Highlanders, because of Thomson's presence.
Joseph said the majority of the Highlanders' key players had re-signed for next year.
Dynamic loose forward John Hardie has suffered an injury to the same foot which ended his season earlier this year.
Hardie broke his toe in March.
He left the field after five minutes for Southland against Otago last week.
Joseph said Hardie's foot was in a moon boot and he was waiting for a scan, to discover the seriousness of the injury.
