Masahiro Tanaka will reportedly make his much awaited return on Sunday when the New York Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays at the Yankee Stadium.

Tanaka, who has not seen action in the major league since a loss to the Cleveland Indians on July 8, recently threw 65 pitches in a simulated game where he did not allow a point in five innings.

Following the session, Tanaka felt no pain in his injured right elbow, but the Japanese pitcher said that his upcoming return to the mound will be a good way to gauge his real condition.

"More than anything I want to see if my body is able to go fully on a major league mound," Tanaka said via ESPN. "If I'm able to go out and have a strong outing, it will give me some good confidence."

After throwing 65 pitches on Monday, Tanaka said that his condition is getting better, but he reiterated that playing in an actual game is still the best way to test his right elbow.

"As far as my performance goes, I think it's gradually getting better," Tanaka said via Newsday. "It's not really a regular-season- game atmosphere, so it's a little bit hard for me to get myself up to that, but I did feel good."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also insisted that fans should manage their expectations despite a strong performance from Tanaka during the simulated game against minor league players.

"It's a simulated game, and as much as you want to simulate that feeling that you get inside as a player, it's not the same," Girardi said. "It's not the same as the season, it just isn't. I don't get too caught up in the results. I get caught up in the velocity and how he feels and how the ball's coming out."

Girardi said that Tanaka's return will not be about the Yankees' chase for a wildcard spot, but it will be more of a final test before deciding whether or not the ace pitcher will need to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the partial ligament tear in his right elbow.

"I've said all along, we're going to have to get to the point where he's in a real game and there's normal preparation and there's people in the stands and his adrenaline's flowing," Girardi said. "I was pleased with the way the ball was coming out of his hand today."