The Toronto Maple Leafs forward did everything but practice on Tuesday, one of the final hurdles before he can come back from a finger injury.

Slowly but surely, Ryan O’Reilly is showing signs of returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.

The veteran forward was back on the ice early before the team practiced on Tuesday. He worked with return-to-play staff as he continues to handle pucks and shoot. But before the rest of the team took the ice for practice, O'Reilly skated off to end his session for the day.

So when can we expect Toronto's biggest trade deadline acquisition back in the lineup?

"The hope is that he'll continue to progress towards practice, I'd call it unlikely to play this week, although it hasn't been ruled out," Keefe said of O'Reilly. "The plan is more to ramp him up this week and look more towards next (for a return)."

O'Reilly joined the Maple Leafs in Florida as part of their four-game road trip that spanned New York and the Southern United States. He took the ice in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday while the rest of the team took the day off. He later joined his teammates for part of their morning skate ahead of their game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

O'Reilly was injured on Mar. 4 when he was the recipient of some friendly fire from teammate Auston Matthews and broke his finger. A few days later, Keefe announced a timeline of four weeks of recovery, which would put the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner's return sometime into early April.

Should O'Reilly return next week, it would put his return right at the initial projection.

The Leafs acquired the 2019 Stanley Cup winner from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 18 along with Noel Acciari for four draft picks (including a first-rounder in 2023) and players Adam Gaudette and Mikhail Abramov.

Related

Michael Bunting, Sheldon Keefe Pour Cold Water On Maple Leafs Bench Conversation Against Predators

Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner Uses His Head to Generate Scoring Chance Against Predators

Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Back to 'Dominant' Self in Record-Tying Performance Against Hurricanes