NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving may be starting to see the end of his injury road.

After missing nearly two months with a right shoulder injury, Irving said he expects to be re-evaluated within the next week. Being cleared to play, Irving said, is a hopeful next step.

"We just see where we end up in the next few days," Irving said Thursday. "Realistically, we will re-evaluate tomorrow. See how I feel tomorrow. Then go Saturday -- probably another practice."

Irving did not pinpoint a date for his return, but said that he's assigned a self-imposed deadline of one week.

"Hopefully I get some game reps in addition to practice probably in the next week or so," he said. "It could be less than that, but I'll give myself a week."

In order for Irving to play, the Nets medical staff would need to agree with Irving's timeline. Irving did not say whether the Nets doctors think it's realistic for him to return within a week.

Irving was able to fully participate in practice for the first time on Thursday morning, including working through 5-on-5 contact drills. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said Irving played with both the starting group and the second unit.

Irving said a week-and-a-half ago that he began to do 2-on-2 work with coaches and has slowly ramped up his workload. Irving said he has no limitations "other than just keeping my shoulder maintenance program going before I get on the floor."

"That's the thing I have to keep consistent throughout the season and probably for the rest of my career," he said.

Irving spoke to reporters on Jan. 4 for the first time since mid-November. On that Saturday, Irving said he had a cortisone shot in his shoulder on Dec. 24. He said then that he was hopeful the medication would stave off the need for surgery, but at the time Irving said he was unsure of the cortisone's effect.

On Wednesday, Irving said he was cautiously optimistic that the cortisone shot was working.

"After the cortisone, it gave me a great stepping stone to work my way to getting back on the floor," he said.

Despite his extended absence, the NBA announced that Irving is second in All-Star voting for Eastern Conference guards. Irving has racked up over 1.3 million votes so far.

"I think I've put in a lot of work in this league to be up there whether I'm playing or not," Irving said "And if you want to see an all-star game, I'd vote for myself as well. I'm going to go out there, we're going to put on a show. But at the same time, there is a respect level I have for all the guys that have been playing throughout the season and they're as much as deserving of being in that spot."