Jonas Brodin was medically cleared and practiced for the first time Wednesday after missing six games with an upper-body injury and could return when the Wild visit the New York Rangers on Friday.
The defenseman sustained the injury when he blocked a shot in the third period of a 3-2 win at the Boston Bruins on Jan. 6.
"[The puck] hit me pretty early in the third there," Brodin said. "I thought it was just a bone bruise, it wasn't too bad, it got numb pretty quick. But at the end I took a slap shot and I thought something's not good here. [My hand] was broken after x-ray."
Brodin will participate in practice Thursday before assessing if he will be ready to play against the Rangers.
"We'll see, but he looked good," coach Dean Evason said. "His legs are gonna' be fine, just a matter of handling the puck and what have you, but he looked good in that area too.
"It'll be a big bonus if we can get him back this weekend."
Brodin has scored 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 29 games this season.
Cam Talbot is also possible to play Friday. The goalie aggravated a lower-body injury that caused him to miss six games when he returned and played two periods in an 8-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. Talbot allowed one goal on 15 shots but did not play the third period.
"I had a good talk with him this morning," Evason said. "He could have gone back in as we talked about, but we the way the game was going we just didn't feel it was necessary. He said he felt great yesterd ... and he really tested it today. It was good so we'll see how it shakes out after practice here."
Minnesota will be without forward Nico Sturm and defenseman Jon Merrill when the Wild open a four-game road trip Friday. Each entered NHL COVID-19 protocol Wednesday. -- Jessi Pierce
