MIAMI, April 1 (AP) -- Dwyane Wade is ready to begin his comeback.

Nearly six weeks after dislocating his left shoulder, the reigning NBA finals MVP will attempt to practice with the Miami Heat on Monday, his first attempt at a full workout since suffering the injury.

"It's going to feel pretty good to get back out there,'' Wade said Sunday during a visit to Miami Children's Hospital, while his teammates were playing at Detroit to end a three-game road trip. "The only thing I can do is continue to work hard.''

After Sunday, Miami has nine regular season 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. Entering Sunday, the Heat had gone 13-6 since Wade's injury, rising from a team on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble to one contending for the Southeast Division title.

His decision to try and resume playing is hardly a surprise. The fan poll on his official Web site has read "What do you expect from Dwyane when he comes back?'' and teammates have suggested for weeks that they were fairly certain Wade would at least attempt a return.

Wade underwent tests about a week and a half ago which indicated that the shoulder was healing nicely. He was seen shooting and running through individual drills after a Heat practice last week for the first time since getting hurt, and 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 members of the Heat medical staff tried - and failed - to get the shoulder back into place in the moments immediately 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 that Wade wouldn't further injure himself on his way to the locker room. Within hours, Wade was given two options: Surgery that would end his season, or a rigorous rehabilitation plan with no guarantees of a comeback.

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