UPDATE: The news couldn’t be much worse for the Wild, who were hoping to get good news on captain Mikko Koivu’s injury.
Koivu left the game Saturday night against the Capitals with an apparent foot injury, but the news is much worse.
#mnwild captain Mikko Koivu underwent ankle surgery, will miss at least a month, team announces.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 6, 2014
The team made the announcement with a brief statement on Wild.com.
Mikko Koivu underwent successful surgery this morning to repair an ankle fracture suffered Saturday night vs. Washington. Koivu is expected to make a full recovery and return to play in approximately four weeks.
The captain was placed on Injured Reserve this morning. He currently leads the team in points with 35 (8-27=35) through 44 games this season.
Earlier on Monday, the Minnesota Wild announced that Koivu and leading goaltender Josh Harding were been placed on injured reserve. Harding missed the last two games with an illness. No reports have suggested his illness is related to his multiple sclerosis, which he recently took a week off to make changes to his treatment.
Prior to these injuries the Wild lost forward Zach Parise (foot) and defenseman Jared Spurgeon (lower-body) injuries.
To counter all of the injuries, the Wild recalled forward Erik Haula and defenseman Jonathan Blum from the Iowa Wild. Hockey Wilderness has a solid report on how Haula, a former Gopher, has been playing.
