Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade returned to full-contact practice Wednesday and may wind up returning before the end of the season despite previously being ruled out.

"He went through part of the contact in practice today and he looked good," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. "Guys were out there—a good, spirited workout. Dwyane was able to participate in a lot of the contact drills. The big thing for him right now is getting his conditioning and wind and timing back, but it was great to see him out there and part of our scrimmage."

According to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, Wade plans to play on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets.

Wade, 35, suffered a fractured elbow in a March 15 game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The team initially announced he would miss the remainder of the regular season with the injury.

Chicago is tied with the Indiana Pacers for seventh in the Eastern Conference, though it holds a tiebreaker. The Miami Heat are ninth in the conference but tied with the Bulls and Pacers in the loss column. The final handful of games remaining this season will determine which of the three winds up watching the postseason from home.

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Wade is in his first season with his hometown Bulls after leaving the Heat in free agency. There's little doubt that preventing a Miami playoff berth plays some part in his desire to come back before the end of the regular season. Bulls star Jimmy Butler, who has been sensational since Wade has been out, said it's "easier" when his co-star is on the floor.

"He says that he feels good," Butler said. "Which he's supposed to say because he wants to come back and play. I don't want him to hurry back and re-injure it or make it worse, but I want him out there on the floor, so it's kind of a 'I want you back, but I don't want you to jeopardize anything.'

"But he was out there today. ... It's easier when he's out there. It's easy whenever he's out there. He makes my job a lot easier, along with everybody else's. It's just good to have him, his presence out there. That's bigger than what he does on the floor. Just having him out there with us."

Hoiberg has already ruled him out of Thursday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers.