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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Kyle Lowry's long awaited return to practice, albeit as a partial participant, didn't exactly provide us with the clarity and general sense of optimism we were hoping for.

For the first time since undergoing surgery on his right wrist in late February, Lowry was involved in the Raptors' light workout session at BioSteel Centre on Monday afternoon, at least to some degree. That much we know, but there's still plenty we don't. There was no official update to his status, no return date given and very little indication of what he was able to do on the court, if anything.

If it wasn't clear already, both the team and the player are keeping those things to themselves and, as frustrating as that may be for the rest of us, it's their prerogative. So, without much concrete information to go on, let's try to make sense of what we do know.

Tuesday marks the five-week anniversary of Lowry's surgery - a procedure to remove loose bone fragments that had built up in his wrist, likely over time.

Initially, there was no official timetable released. The Vertical had tweeted an "optimistic" estimate of 4-5 weeks - one that was almost certainly leaked by Lowry's representation - while the team was more conservative, targeting a return just in time for the playoffs. As it turns out, Lowry says the original timeline he got from the doctor that performed his surgery in New York City was 4-6 weeks, which is in line with both the optimistic and conservative estimates.

"It could have been quicker, it could have been longer," he said.

Lowry says his wrist is still "a little sore", which isn't necessarily a cause for concern in and of itself. He has full range of motion but is easing his way back into basketball activity. He's been dribbling with it for a couple weeks and, after only taking jumpers with his left, he's recently started shooting with his strong hand again, although he's not yet launching many from long range. He still hasn't put himself through a full workout.

Could he play if the post-season started tomorrow?

"I don’t know," he said. "I just want to make sure I’m 100 per cent and ready to go when I’m ready to go. I’m trying to get more stuff in and make sure my wrist reacts the right way. If you do something one day and it doesn’t react the right way, then what?"

While that and a lot of what was said on Monday doesn't inspire much confidence, consider the following:

One - Teams are not required to make inactive players available to the media until they practice or are set to return. Clearly he didn't choose to chat because he missed us, so the fact that he was coerced to speak could mean he's closer than he or the team are letting on.

Two - Lowry insists he still intends to suit up before the playoffs. That appears to be the team's expectation as well. He also believes he's right on schedule and, assuming that schedule remains 4-6 weeks, both of those things point to a return sometime over the next eight days.

Although he checks in with her regularly, Lowry hasn't been to New York to see his doctor since his routine follow-up appointment three weeks ago and says he won't need her clearance to play.

"It’s me, Kyle Lowry, who's going to clear me," he said.

That's also an encouraging sign and may suggest there's no structural danger of re-injury, just a question of how quickly the pain becomes manageable and when Lowry is comfortable enough with it to get back to work.

For now it's likely a day-to-day process as he continues to build up strength in the wrist, seeing how it responds after each workout and going from there. Lowry doesn't anticipate needing much, if any, time to get re-acclimated to a team that has won 14 of 20 games without him, including eight of the last nine. However, after missing over a month, the real challenge will be getting back in game shape, shaking off the rust and finding his rhythm again - the biggest reason he's hoping to get some run before the playoffs begin on Apr. 15.

"Nothing’s like basketball," said the three-time all-star point guard. "No conditioning you can do is like basketball. That’s going to only take a little bit of time. Right now, I’m going to make sure I’m fully healthy and completely ready to go to help the team no matter what.

"I’m bored, as a basketball player wanting to play. I want to play, that’s why I’m bored, but other than that I’m enjoying watching these guys get these wins."

Just five regular season games remain and he's already ruled himself out of Tuesday's contest in Indiana. Following that, the Raptors are in Detroit on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday and host Miami in their final home game Friday. Lowry will be back at some point, presumably, just don't expect much of a heads up first.

"I’m not going to go into a daily ‘When is Kyle coming back’," Dwane Casey said. "This is about the Toronto Raptors, us getting ready for the next game and if you have questions about that, then that’s fine. But all the other questions, I’m not going to get into specifics about when is Kyle coming back, when he’s not coming back, what did he do today, did he use the bathroom this morning, did he have breakfast this morning - no, I’m not getting into all that."