After going down following an accidental clash of heads with team-mate Zander Fagerson, Russell was not able to recover and missed this summer's tour of Japan with Scotland.
But despite being well on the road to recovery and training well in light sessions back with the Warriors, Townsend will not be rushing Russell back too early.
"We don't expect him to play in the first two or three games of the season," he said. "We'll just see what happens over the next few weeks.
"He's working on skills, he's very keen to be involved, and everything has gone well so far with his recovery.
"But we're being very cautious on when he can come back to training with the team and also full training.
"So far his progress has been really good."
Follow the Guinness PRO12 on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the Guinness PRO12.
Guinness PRO12 Warriors News
63x46.png){kind=logo}