The Houston Rockets are targeting Wednesday night's game in New Orleans as the return for center Dwight Howard.

The Rockets, barring any late audibles, intend to bring Howard back from a 26-game absence in Wednesday's road game against the Pelicans and limit him to 20 minutes per game in the early stages of his return from season-long knee troubles. Howard officially is listed as questionable on the team's injury report.

Howard has not played since Jan. 23, but Houston has maintained its standing as a top-four team in the Western Conference without its defensive anchor, which has bolstered the MVP case of Rockets stalwart James Harden. The Rockets are 17-9 since Dwight went out.

"You might see Dwight sooner rather than later," Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters before Monday's victory over Indiana.

Howard said last week that he expects to be restricted to 20 to 25 minutes per game until he can build his endurance and that he won't play in back-to-back games.

The Rockets have three back-to-backs remaining, including one at the end of the March when they travel to Washington and Toronto.

"Pretty close, pretty close. I can't wait to get back on the floor," Howard told Houston reporters last week. "It sucks being injured and trying to come back from an injury. When people see you they say, 'Oh, he looks good,' and sometimes they don't understand the whole process. I'm happy the rehab process is almost over with and I can get back on the floor and join my team."

"I'll be back when I feel like I'm ready, in the best shape and when my body is healthy enough to play and maintain itself," said Howard, who has averaged 16.3 points and 11 rebounds per game this season. "I know a lot of people want me to play and I want to play as bad as anybody. The most important thing is this doesn't happen again. We want to make a deep push in the playoffs this year, and I can't afford to miss any playoff games."

ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.