TORONTO — Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray appears to be on track for a return to the field in Week 9.

Ray took first team reps at Tuesday’s Argos practice, throwing 25-30 passes during team drills against the defence.

Ray, leading the first team offence, had what Head Coach Marc Trestman called an ‘efficient’ day of work, feeling no limitations in the throws he was able to make.

“Ricky practiced the entire day,” said Trestman. “We had a very efficient practice. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow but he didn’t miss a rep, he took every rep today.”

Along with the work during team periods, the 15-year veteran participated in all of his typical individual and positional-based drills.

The Argos quarterback is working his way back from a shoulder injury suffered during the team’s Week Seven against the Calgary Stampeders. He missed the first game of the team’s home-and-home against the Montreal Alouettes last week in Montreal.

“It’s feeling a lot better,” explained Ray. “Just having some rest last week and not doing anything other than rehab on it really helped it feel better this week.”

Tuesday’s news puts the 37-year-old veteran, who still ranks second in the CFL with 2,421 passing yards, on pace to play in Saturday’s rematch with the Als.

Ray, now in his 15th CFL season, has overcome his fair share of injuries since joining the Boatmen in 2012. In his first season under Trestman, however, the veteran has flourished, throwing for 300 or more yards in six straight games before being injured vs. Calgary.

Jeff Mathews and Cody Fajardo split quarterbacking duties in Week 8, a 21-9 loss to Montreal in which the Argo offence failed to find the end zone.

– With files from Argonauts.ca