CHICAGO — It is certainly the weekend of returns around Wrigley Field.

Well, returns and impending returns, that is.

The day after Sammy Sosa made his first visit to Wrigley Field in 21 years, the Chicago Cubs also announced injured ace Shota Imanaga will make his return from a hamstring strain on the upcoming road trip.

Imanaga tossed 4.1 shutout innings Friday night in a rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa, striking out eight batters while throwing 72 pitches.

Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday morning that the Cubs expect to have their ace back in the rotation in the next few days.

“Everything went great,” Counsell said. “Did what we hoped he would do. He’s in a position to be ready. So he’s going to join us in St. Louis, and we’ll figure out the next steps.”

The Cubs wrap up their longest homestand of the season this weekend before embarking on a seven-game road trip to St. Louis and Houston.

Counsell confirmed Imanaga’s next start will come in the big leagues, though he did not lay out exactly when.

The Cubs are in a stretch of 13 straight days with games before their next off-day on June 30. They are also facing a bit of a question mark in the rotation as Matthew Boyd left Friday’s start early after suffering a bruise on his throwing shoulder while fielding a comebacker.

Boyd is still dealing with inflammation and the Cubs do not yet know whether he will be able to take his next turn through the rotation — which is slated for Wednesday in St. Louis.

“We’ll give ourselves a couple more days before we think about that,” Counsell said. “Right now, he’s on schedule to pitch and if we get closer to that and he’s unable to have a normal four days in between starts, then we’ll reevaluate.”

Since Imanaga pitched on Friday as well, he would be on regular rest to step in to start Wednesday’s game should Boyd need more time to recover.

Counsell admitted everything is on the table for the Cubs right now, including a possible six-man rotation.

When Boyd is healthy enough to make his next start, he will be guaranteed a spot in the rotation alongside Jameson Taillon. But the Cubs could conceivably make adjustments to the other three spots to create room for Imanaga.

Veteran Colin Rea has been a solid stabilizer in the rotation but he has experience in relief and carries a 6.15 ERA over his last five starts.

Young right-hander Ben Brown has struggled to find consistency in the rotation this year (5.57 ERA) and could be an option to move to the bullpen or head down to Triple-A Iowa for more development.

Rookie Cade Horton came up to take Imanaga’s spot on the pitching staff and has fared well (3.47 ERA before Saturday’s start), but the Cubs are also cognizant of his workload after he missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.

The team could elect to move Horton to the bullpen or send him back to the minors to help protect his arm, though that might be a tough decision to make given how well he has been pitching.

However, moving Brown, Rea or Horton to the bullpen isn’t quite as simple as one might think. The Cubs currently have six veteran members of the bullpen who cannot be optioned to the minors, with only closer Daniel Palencia and the newly recalled Nate Pearson able to go back to Triple-A.

The Cubs are also on the verge of getting one of their top relievers back, as Porter Hodge tossed his third rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa Friday as he works his way back from a strained oblique.

Hodge struggled Friday, allowing seven runs (six earned) on four hits and two walks while retiring only one batter.

The Cubs want to get Hodge back on track and give him another rehab outing or two to work out the kinks in the minors. He will pitch again with Iowa either Sunday or Tuesday before the team determines the next steps.

When Hodge does return, that will mean the bullpen is essentially locked in unless injury strikes. The current group has pitched so well over the last few weeks that it would be hard to see the Cubs designate any of the veterans for assignment or send Palencia back to the minors to clear up a roster spot for Rea, Brown or Horton.