MINNEAPOLIS – Brandon Roy will be present at the Timberwolves' Sunday practice after spending the majority of his time on the West Coast since his Nov. 19 knee surgery. Roy underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his ailing right knee, which the team deemed "a success." Due to the vagueness surrounding the procedure, it's uncertain where Roy stands in his recovery or even how much cleanup work was necessary. When he returns to Minneapolis, president of basketball operations David Kahn said, Roy's first order of business will be to be checked out by the medical staff. He will not participate in Sunday's workout. The return of AK: Andrei Kirilenko will play Friday against the Cavaliers after missing the previous four games with back spasms. Kirilenko has suffered from such spasms once or twice a season throughout his career, and he said that he feels back to normal after more than a week on the sideline. "Right now, I feel relieved," Kirilenko said. "I don't feel any weakness. I feel strong. I feel I can move. That's the main thing because like a week ago, I was feeling like weak. I can't really like bend. I can't really start my motion, because it's so weak it won't allow me. Right now, I feel like it's back to normal." Last Friday, Kirilenko admitted he hoped to play Tuesday in Philadelphia, but by Sunday it was apparent he would not be able to. He continued with the same treatment, massages, ice and heating, and after missing the East Coast trip he's ready to go. Friday night will mark just the fourth game featuring Kirilenko and Kevin Love in the starting lineup (Kirilenko seems a lock to start), and it'll be interesting to see how the two play with each other as they return to full strength. Ricky reports: In addition to shooting down trade rumors Friday morning, Kahn refuted a report that point guard Ricky Rubio had been angling to play Friday against the Cavaliers. That is not the case, Kahn said, and Rubio will not debut just yet. That makes sense, especially with the team having four days off before its next game Wednesday against Denver. That would give Rubio three more practices if he were to play then, which is obviously still speculation and very much up in the air. Kahn also shot down the idea of sending Rubio to the D-League to rehab, a statement that surprised exactly no one. Varejao and Love: Cavaliers big man Anderson Varejao is just one game away from matching Love's 10-game streak in which he put up 15 or more rebounds. Varejao has a chance to match that mark Friday against Love.
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