Brett Cecil’s season-ending calf injury might not be so season-ending after all.

The Blue Jays reliever said Thursday that should Toronto advance to the World Series, he believes he will be ready to return to active duty.

“Everything feels good,” Cecil said after throwing on Thursday, but not off a mound. He believes he can already throw well enough to pitch, but the question is: Can he move well enough?

“The biggest thing for me will be running,” he said. “I haven’t done it yet. I’m going to try and run in the next few days.”

Intensive therapy with the Jays’ training staff has taken Cecil from also-ran to possibility and he admits he’s shocked by the progress made with his torn calf muscle. “I’m surprised,” said Cecil. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

When he had his MRI earlier in the week, he said he was in “excruciating pain,” just trying to stay still. In the meantime, Jays lefty reliever Aaron Loup, who was supposed to fill in for Cecil, will return to the club for Game 1 of the ALCS after being away for two games due to personal concerns.

Cecil is happy to have Loup back and is excited about his own possibilities. When asked about not being able to pitch in the clinching Game 5 against Texas, where he certainly would have been called, he said: “Don’t think I wasn’t thinking about it.”