49ers at Colts, 1 p.m. Sunday, Fox

INDIANAPOLIS – He’s back.

After nine months of rehab and unending anxiety, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is scheduled to return to practice this week.

But before you go shuffling your fantasy-football lineup, here’s an important dose of reality about the Pro Bowl quarterback coming off offseason shoulder surgery:

The comeback process doesn’t end with Luck's return to the practice field. It merely continues.

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Andrew Luck won't play Sunday

While Luck is ready to practice, we do not know when he will play. He will not participate in Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium. Forget about it.

The goal, for now, is to ease him back into action. The Colts have practices scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

“We’ve got a plan in place where we want to start getting him reps,” General Manager Chris Ballard said on “Colts Roundtable Live” on 1070 AM.

Until then, when Luck plays again can’t even begin to be discussed. Coaches must first see where he’s at.

And the only way to determine that is through practice. Lots of practice.

Jacoby Brissett will get first-team reps

“The toughest part is the speed of the game,” said NFL on CBS analyst Rich Gannon, who played quarterback for 17 seasons. “He has to get acclimated to it again. If practice wasn’t important, we wouldn’t do it, right?”

Luck will be starting from scratch. Jacoby Brissett will continue to take the first-team reps at quarterback since he’ll be tasked with playing in actual games for the time being. Brissett’s preparation is paramount in the short term because the Colts have to compete while Luck is sidelined. But the Colts still must get Luck some work.

How will they do that?

“I think you’d integrate him back into practice just like … we did Vontae (Davis) last week,” coach Chuck Pagano said.

Davis, the team’s Pro Bowl cornerback, missed a month with a groin injury but finally got back on the practice field two weeks ago before playing in Sunday's game at Seattle. And Davis did so on the scout team.

Andrew Luck will be on scout team

Yes, at some point, Andrew Luck will be on the scout team.

It’s the most logical way to get Luck some football action without disrupting preparation for the current week. How long that continues remains to be seen. But getting Luck on the scout team will allow him to engage in legitimate football action and offer coaches a true opportunity to evaluate him.

“There’s going to be a period of time where he needs to just practice and get back to playing football,” Pagano said.

There’s so much to evaluate with a quarterback. Luck must once again find his footwork, one of the most critical elements for a quarterback’s success. He’s been throwing in private rehab sessions, but has not had to do it with oncoming rushers around him.

“He’s got to feel the rush and get his timing,” Gannon said. “It’s important to duplicate that in practice. There’s no question about his toughness, but he’s been out a very long time.”

The scout-team offense typically prepares the starting defense by mimicking the opposing offense in the upcoming game. This presents a great opportunity for evaluation of Luck by the Colts’ coaching staff.

“The scout team work will be important,” Gannon said. “You have guys coming off the edge and they will create havoc. And he’ll go against the top pass rushers and the best cornerbacks. Any reps he gets are critical because he missed training camp.”

How will Luck react? How are his mechanics? Will his throws be accurate?

So many questions, so few answers.

Those questions can start being addressed this week. And the result should be the long-awaited return to action for the Colts’ franchise quarterback.

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.