The Wild had their best player back for the first time in a month, but they didn’t play like it. Kirill Kaprizov’s return was spoiled by a 4-0 shellacking from Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center that continued the Wild’s woes at home.

Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic are reporting that Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov could require surgery. The superstar recently returned after missing time and has played in three games since his attempted comeback on January 23 against Utah.

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes said he is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon will return to the lineup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.

Kaprizov (lower body) will be back in the lineup versus Utah on Thursday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports. Kaprizov will return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 against Chicago, a stretch of 12 games on long-term injured reserve.

Superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon returned to practice on Wednesday. Head coach John Hynes told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic" that both will play in their upcoming game against the Utah Hockey Club at Xcel Energy Center.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

The Minnesota Wild activated star Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from injured reserve to put two integral players back in the lineup. Kaprizov missed 12 games with a lower-body

The Wild were shutout at home 4-0 against the Utah Hockey Club. Despite each playing for more than 15 minutes on the ice, neither superstar had much of an impact on the game, Kaprizov only had 3 shots on goal, and Spurgeon with 0. The team in total had 26 shots on goal, and all were saved by Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka.

Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov needs surgery on the lingering lower-body injury he recently returned from and will be sidelined for at least a month. General manager Bill Guerin said Kaprizov is expected to be back with the team later this season.

What they're saying: Kaprizov will be out at least four weeks, GM Bill Guerin told reporters — and it could be closer to six, per The Athletic. The silver lining is that Kaprizov can recover during the Wild's two-week break mid-February during the NHL's in-season international tournament.

PAUL - The Minnesota Wild will be without their star forward Kirill Kaprizov for a good stretch of time. He missed practice on Tuesday after playing in the last three games. He had two assists in those three games but was feeling uncomfortable,