“It’s feeling better and, yeah, I do expect to play,” Garrett told reporters before KU’s holiday clinic at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday.

Kansas coach Bill Self, who turned 57 on Friday, confirmed Garrett’s hunch a few minutes later.

“I don’t know that he’ll be 100%,” Self said of Garrett. “But he’ll play against Stanford.”

Fifth-ranked Kansas (9-2) and Stanford (11-1) will square off at 2 p.m. Sunday on ABC from Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

Garrett missed the entire second half of last Saturday’s 1-point loss to Villanova in Philadelphia after spraining his right ankle on a hard fall near the basket late in the first half.

According to Self, no X-ray was required on the injured ankle and Garrett’s healing process got off to a fast start as early as last Sunday.

After a few days off for the holiday break — which Garrett spent in his hometown of Dallas — the Jayhawks returned to Lawrence on Thursday for their first practice to begin preparing for Stanford.

That was the first true chance Garrett had to test the ankle and show his teammates and coaches how he looked, and, according to freshman Christian Braun and KU coach Bill Self, Garrett looked more than capable of playing his regular role.

“I think he looks better than I thought he was going to,” Braun said. “He’s been getting a lot of treatment and doing what he’s supposed to do to get back to the game. Whenever he’s on the court he always plays well, so I don’t really notice a difference because he’s a tough guy. But he looks good to me.”

Added Self: “I thought he was good (Thursday), and I thought he was sore (Friday). You could tell he didn’t move (as well), but we practiced at 9 a.m., too. I think he’s going to be fine.”

Self said if Garrett is able to play on Sunday, he would take his normal spot in the starting lineup.

“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,” Self confirmed. “I don’t see any reason why if he plays we wouldn’t start him.”

Garrett said Friday that he was not worried at all about his latest ankle injury affecting him the way a severe high ankle sprain to the opposite ankle did late last season.

“When I went down and (KU trainer Bill Cowgill) asked me was it as bad as last year, I told him no,” Garrett recalled. “I felt the difference. … This is not a high ankle (sprain).”

Last season’s injury to his left ankle kept Garrett out of five full games and kept him from being anywhere close to 100% down the stretch of the Jayhawks’ 26-10 season.

But the junior leader who currently is averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 28 minutes per game in 11 starts this season is not worried about dealing with the same type of pain and stiffness that plagued him the last time around.

“When I got up (Friday) morning, it was just a little sore, but it’s something I can work through,” he said. “I’m feeling good. I can move and do all the things (I have to do). If I can play on Sunday, it shouldn’t affect me at all.”

If Garrett is limited in any capacity, Self said the performance of freshmen Braun and Tristan Enaruna in Garrett’s place against Villanova put him in a better position to trust his bench more than he has to this point.

“I probably will,” Self said. “I’d like to see the ball go in the hole, but I’m pleased with all our guys. I’m not displeased with any of them. I just think that there’s some things we have to learn and grow from and I’ve got to do a better job of helping them in certain situations.”