Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will return to the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, David Alter of The Hockey News confirmed.

Matthews missed the past five games with the injury sustained against the Boston Bruins on November 11. The 28-year-old skated throughout the past two weeks and took line rushes alongside Matthew Knies and Nicolas Roy at Tuesday’s practice.

“It’s been a tough couple weeks, but I think over the last four, five days or so, skating, practising, started to feel really good day after day,” Matthews said Wednesday via TSN’s Mark Masters. “Stacked some positive momentum and feel like I’m ready to go.”

Knies and Roy will also return to the lineup on Wednesday. Knies missed the past three games with a lower-body injury and spoke to travelling reporters ahead of the team’s optional skate.

“I feel great. I feel a lot better,” Knies said Wednesday morning via Masters. “I’m just excited to get back in the lineup. It sucks watching. You just want to be out there to help the guys so happy to do that today.”

It’s unclear how Matthews will be deployed in his return, but it’s possible that Berube reunites Matthews with Knies and Roy for Wednesday’s game, while Easton Cowan remains alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. It appears that Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli, Sammy Blais and Jacob Quillan will be among the healthy scratches, with Matthews, Knies and Roy returning to action.

Quillan has been removed from the Leafs’ roster page and will likely be sent down to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies with Matthews and Roy returning from IR.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube declined to tell reporters which players would be scratched on Wednesday.

Roy missed three games due to an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 15 on November 20. The 28-year-old declined to speak about the specifics of his injury but confirmed he sustained the ailment during a November 15 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.