A timely update has been provided on the status of Toronto Raptors star point guard Kyle Lowry for Game 1 of the defending champs' second-round matchup against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

According to Raptors team insider Alvin Williams of Sportsnet, Lowry is fully expected to suit up for their opening matchup against the C's:

“I actually talked to Kyle this morning and he was feeling — he didn’t say he was feeling good, but he was like ‘I’m alright.’ You know Kyle, ‘I’m alright, I’ll be ready to go.’ So that was the biggest thing,” Williams said during a Monday appearance on Sportsnet Central. “We all know Kyle and how he gets down and, you know, his pedigree and that drive, his pain tolerance — all those things that makes him a champion and the player he is.

“So I’m 99.9 per cent sure he’ll be ready to play, as he expressed when I talked to him earlier today.”

Lowry suffered a sprain on his left ankle in Toronto's Game 4 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, as they accomplished a highly-impressive 4-0 clean sweep on the Nets. The Raptors seemed to have dodged a bullet here, with initial reports stating that Lowry had no timetable for a return, which more often than not, means that the injury is relatively serious.

Then again, this is the playoffs, and as Williams implied above, this is Kyle Lowry we're talking about here. The veteran is quite durable, and is not one to sit out minor injuries, especially during the postseason.

To be clear, however, nothing is set in stone yet. The Raptors coaching staff will ultimately make the final decision here, and they could very well hold Lowry out if they feel that the risk is unmanageable.