Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic has missed all 21 of the team’s games thus far due to the injuries he suffered when he was punched in the face by teammate Bobby Portis. However, the 26-year-old has worked his way back, is in much better shape, and now expects to make his season debut at some point during the week.

The Bulls are set to play four games this week, giving Mirotic several options as to when he will return. They take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, and the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks on a back-to-back during the weekend.

The Bulls will hope Mirotic’s improved physical condition will help him get back into the swing of things much more quickly. The Bulls currently have the worst record in the NBA at 3-18 and need all the help they can get in order to snap an eight-game losing skid. They’ve dropped back-to-back one-point heart-breakers against the Denver Nuggets and the Sacramento Kings.

Mirotic is averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 35 percent on three-pointers over his three-year NBA career. He should help provide more scoring off the Bulls bench as the primary backup to rookie Lauri Markkanen.