Ricky Rubio plans to play Monday against Dallas

Ricky Rubio is one game away from returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rubio has been cleared to play on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Rubio has been out since severely injuring his left ankle Nov. 7. He will have missed 43 games because of the injury, and the Wolves sunk to the bottom of the league without him. They are 8-38 entering Saturday night's game against Cleveland.

Rubio signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension before the season and helped the Wolves get off to a promising start before going down with the first ankle injury of his career.