According to ESPN's David McMenamin, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is set to make his season debut Thursday against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Irving has missed the first 23 games of the 2015-16 season as he recovered from surgery to repair the kneecap fracture he suffered in Game 1 of June's NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He was cleared for full contact a week ago after slowly making his way back and hasn't suffered any setbacks in practice.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that Irving has been ready to play for a week and Cavs coach David Blatt told reporters earlier today that the Cavs were being cautious with Irving and that he was not yet 100 percent.
According to McMenamin's source, Irving will have to go through a series of physical tests to test his readiness to play. The tests will be similar the ones Irving went through prior to Game 4 of last spring Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks. Irving underwent tests after missing Games 2 and 3 of the Hawks series with tendinitis in his left knee.
Irving's return comes at a fortunate time for the Cavs, as Iman Shumpert has already been ruled out for Thursday's game with a groin injury. Shumpert was injured in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's game against the Boston Celtics.