''Sorry,'' said Fabio, a tube regulating his flow of medicine coming from his hand.

Wade smiled and didn't even flinch. The dislocated shoulder is healing nicely, and nearly six weeks after the injury threatened to end his season, the reigning NBA finals MVP is ready to return to practice with the Miami Heat.

Wade said he'll be back on the practice court with the Heat tomorrow and aims to play ''a game or two'' before the end of the regular season.

''It's going to feel pretty good to get back out there,'' Wade said while his teammates were playing at Detroit to end a three-game road trip, a game he watched with the kids on a rented flat-screen TV in the hospital's playroom. ''The only thing I can do is continue to work hard.''

After Sunday's 94-88 loss to the Pistons, Miami has nine games left, starting Tuesday against Toronto. The playoffs open April 21.

Wade was averaging 28.8 points when he was hurt in a collision with Houston's Shane Battier on Feb. 21. The Heat have gone 13-7 since Wade's injury, rising from a team on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble to one contending for the Southeast Division title.

''We're missing some scoring, we're missing some outside shooting,'' Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said after today's game. ''So once we get everybody back, we can catch a little fire.''

Wade said the decision on when he'll play in a game will be made in consultation with his doctors and physical therapist.

His decision to try and resume playing is hardly a surprise. Teammates have suggested for weeks they were fairly certain Wade would at least attempt a return.

Wade underwent tests about a week and a half ago that indicated the shoulder was healing well. He was seen shooting and running through individual drills after a practice last week for the first time since getting hurt. He's even helped design a sleeve that he'll wear on court to protect his shoulder.

The dislocation was a painful one, evidenced by the tears that streamed down Wade's face as the Heat medical staff tried -- and failed -- to get the shoulder back into place in the moments following the fourth-quarter collision with Battier.

He was ushered off Houston's court that night in a wheelchair, a precaution taken in part so Wade wouldn't further injure himself on his way to the locker room. Within hours, Wade was given two options: season-ending surgery or rigorous rehabilitation with no guarantee of a comeback.

Wade chose rehab, which he began about a month ago. And while surgery is still a strong possibility this offseason, he now feels the joint has healed well enough to try and begin absorbing the rigors of NBA ball again.

''I don't want to come back and have to work my way back into basketball shape,'' Wade said. ''I want to come out there and be as sharp as I can be. I'm still working behind closed doors to come out and have the same impact on the game as I had when I went out.''

Wade understands that his injury doesn't compare with what some of the kids at the hospital are going through.

''These kids can't go out and play,'' he said. ''So we're spending the day together and having some fun.''

He posed for photos, handed out gift bags and shook everybody's hand as most patients looked up at him, wide-eyed, unable to say much.