He’s back.

Just 37 days after suffering an injury to his left wrist in Wisconsin’s victory Jan. 9 over then-No. 4 Purdue, junior forward Jon Leuer returned to practice Monday sporting a soft cast on his left wrist and looking like he hasn’t missed a beat.

ESPN.com’s Andy Katz reported earlier in the day that Leuer would return to practice today and could play Thursday at Minnesota.

Upon arriving at practice just after 3 p.m. today, I can confirm the reports are true. In fact, the first play I witnessed Leuer take part in was an outlet pass from senior guard Jason Bohannon, which Leuer quickly converted into an impressive one-handed slam.

Leuer’s return appears to have given his teammates an added bounce in their steps at today’s practice with the possibility of seeing the Long Lake, Minn., native back on the court as soon as this week.

If Leuer returned Thursday, it would be 40 days to the date of Leuer’s injury against the Boilermakers. That would fall just short of six weeks, which was the high-end estimate of most news outlets following the January injury.

Regardless of what happens today, tomorrow and later this week in Minnesota, Leuer’s return to practice today signifies that he will indeed be back for the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA Tournament, which gives UW’s tournament hopes a huge boost.

Be sure to check back later for more information as the story develops.