Dwyane Wade has been no stranger to injuries over the course of the 2013-2014 season, but he was able to return to the Miami Heat lineup during their game on Saturday. He has missed out on many games over the season, and just returned from a 9-game stretch that he was forced to sit out.

It was a game against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night when Dwyane Wade would return to the starting lineup. As a team that is currently fighting for the No.1 seed in the NBA playoffs, the Heat need every star to be playing, and unfortunately even with Wade’s return, the Heat lost to the Hawks 98-85.

As he continues to struggle, and with the playoffs starting in about a week, it could be risky for Wade to return now. In addition to his recent injury, he also almost missed the 2014 NBA All-Star game, and instead played limited minutes.

He has missed 28 games overall, with most of the absences due to his knee soreness. He has also missed time with an Achilles strain. The Heat are currently in a fierce fight with the Indiana Pacers heading into the final week of the regular season, and are currently half a game behind.

I don't care what nobody says watching the heat game without Dwyane Wade is just not the same

— THREE (@DwyaneWade1fan) April 10, 2014

Heat are 10-11 over last 21 gms. Dwyane Wade has missed 11 of those. That might not be the problem. MIA's 3-7 in last 10 gms Wade has played

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 10, 2014

Speaking on his ability to play again, before the game Dwyane Wade said “I’m going to give it a go today. That’s the plan. The first thing was to get comfortable with it. You never know how severe it is until you try to strengthen it. Now, it’s just about getting comfortable and pushing it to see where you’re at.”

His recent hamstring injury kept him out for more time than he had missed during any other part of the season, and it was much more serious than he, or the rest of the team had initially thought.

There were a couple of other games recently when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade was on the verge of returning, but the team ultimately held him out as a further precaution.

Dwyane Wade 24pts 10/14. He's back, if the Heat 3peat he'll get the Finals mvp.

— NBA Forever (@NBAForever_) April 13, 2014

Despite missing about a third of the NBA season, Dwyane Wade returned on Saturday to score 24 points. In the games that he has played in, he is averaging 19.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Image via Wikimedia Commons