diff --git a/packages/next/src/client/components/app-router.tsx b/packages/next/src/client/components/app-router.tsx
index dabfb3b7a066b..1bc1eb4a2e2e5 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/client/components/app-router.tsx
+++ b/packages/next/src/client/components/app-router.tsx
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ import type { FlightRouterState } from '../../server/app-render/types'
 import { useNavFailureHandler } from './nav-failure-handler'
 import { useServerActionDispatcher } from '../app-call-server'
 import type { AppRouterActionQueue } from '../../shared/lib/router/action-queue'
+import { prefetch as prefetchWithSegmentCache } from '../components/segment-cache/prefetch'
+
 import {
   getRedirectTypeFromError,
   getURLFromRedirectError,
@@ -69,6 +71,43 @@ function isExternalURL(url: URL) {
   return url.origin !== window.location.origin
 }
 
+/**
+ * Given a link href, constructs the URL that should be prefetched. Returns null
+ * in cases where prefetching should be disabled, like external URLs, or
+ * during development.
+ * @param href The href passed to <Link>, router.prefetch(), or similar
+ * @returns A URL object to prefetch, or null if prefetching should be disabled
+ */
+export function createPrefetchURL(href: string): URL | null {
+  // Don't prefetch for bots as they don't navigate.
+  if (isBot(window.navigator.userAgent)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  let url: URL
+  try {
+    url = new URL(addBasePath(href), window.location.href)
+  } catch (_) {
+    // TODO: Does this need to throw or can we just console.error instead? Does
+    // anyone rely on this throwing? (Seems unlikely.)
+    throw new Error(
+      `Cannot prefetch '${href}' because it cannot be converted to a URL.`
+    )
+  }
+
+  // Don't prefetch during development (improves compilation performance)
+  if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  // External urls can't be prefetched in the same way.
+  if (isExternalURL(url)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  return url
+}
+
 function HistoryUpdater({
   appRouterState,
 }: {
@@ -241,38 +280,25 @@ function Router({
     const routerInstance: AppRouterInstance = {
       back: () => window.history.back(),
       forward: () => window.history.forward(),
-      prefetch: (href, options) => {
-        // Don't prefetch for bots as they don't navigate.
-        if (isBot(window.navigator.userAgent)) {
-          return
-        }
-
-        let url: URL
-        try {
-          url = new URL(addBasePath(href), window.location.href)
-        } catch (_) {
-          throw new Error(
-            `Cannot prefetch '${href}' because it cannot be converted to a URL.`
-          )
-        }
-
-        // Don't prefetch during development (improves compilation performance)
-        if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
-          return
-        }
-
-        // External urls can't be prefetched in the same way.
-        if (isExternalURL(url)) {
-          return
-        }
-        startTransition(() => {
-          dispatch({
-            type: ACTION_PREFETCH,
-            url,
-            kind: options?.kind ?? PrefetchKind.FULL,
-          })
-        })
-      },
+      prefetch:
+        process.env.__NEXT_PPR && process.env.__NEXT_CLIENT_SEGMENT_CACHE
+          ? // Unlike the old implementation, the Segment Cache doesn't store its
+            // data in the router reducer state; it writes into a global mutable
+            // cache. So we don't need to dispatch an action.
+            prefetchWithSegmentCache
+          : (href, options) => {
+              // Use the old prefetch implementation.
+              const url = createPrefetchURL(href)
+              if (url !== null) {
+                startTransition(() => {
+                  dispatch({
+                    type: ACTION_PREFETCH,
+                    url,
+                    kind: options?.kind ?? PrefetchKind.FULL,
+                  })
+                })
+              }
+            },
       replace: (href, options = {}) => {
         startTransition(() => {
           navigate(href, 'replace', options.scroll ?? true)
diff --git a/packages/next/src/client/components/router-reducer/reducers/prefetch-reducer.ts b/packages/next/src/client/components/router-reducer/reducers/prefetch-reducer.ts
index ed05a573c454d..8edd75bbfb3bf 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/client/components/router-reducer/reducers/prefetch-reducer.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/client/components/router-reducer/reducers/prefetch-reducer.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ import type {
   ReducerState,
   ReadonlyReducerState,
 } from '../router-reducer-types'
-import { NEXT_RSC_UNION_QUERY } from '../../app-router-headers'
 import { PromiseQueue } from '../../promise-queue'
 import {
   getOrCreatePrefetchCacheEntry,
@@ -12,7 +11,22 @@ import {
 
 export const prefetchQueue = new PromiseQueue(5)
 
-export function prefetchReducer(
+export const prefetchReducer =
+  process.env.__NEXT_PPR && process.env.__NEXT_CLIENT_SEGMENT_CACHE
+    ? identityReducerWhenSegmentCacheIsEnabled
+    : prefetchReducerImpl
+
+function identityReducerWhenSegmentCacheIsEnabled<T>(state: T): T {
+  // Unlike the old implementation, the Segment Cache doesn't store its data in
+  // the router reducer state.
+  //
+  // This shouldn't be reachable because we wrap the prefetch API in a check,
+  // too, which prevents the action from being dispatched. But it's here for
+  // clarity + code elimination.
+  return state
+}
+
+function prefetchReducerImpl(
   state: ReadonlyReducerState,
   action: PrefetchAction
 ): ReducerState {
@@ -20,7 +34,6 @@ export function prefetchReducer(
   prunePrefetchCache(state.prefetchCache)
 
   const { url } = action
-  url.searchParams.delete(NEXT_RSC_UNION_QUERY)
 
   getOrCreatePrefetchCacheEntry({
     url,
diff --git a/packages/next/src/client/components/segment-cache/prefetch.ts b/packages/next/src/client/components/segment-cache/prefetch.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..384c905c33493
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/next/src/client/components/segment-cache/prefetch.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { createPrefetchURL } from '../../components/app-router'
+
+/**
+ * Entrypoint for prefetching a URL into the Segment Cache.
+ * @param href - The URL to prefetch. Typically this will come from a <Link>,
+ * or router.prefetch. It must be validated before we attempt to prefetch it.
+ */
+export function prefetch(href: string) {
+  const url = createPrefetchURL(href)
+  if (url === null) {
+    // This href should not be prefetched.
+    return
+  }
+
+  // TODO: Not yet implemented
+}