SAN JOSE >> Shakir Mukhamadullin’s upper-body injury will keep him out of the Sharks lineup for the rest of the season and any playoff run their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, might begin later this month.

Mukhamadullin, 23, was injured in the third period of last Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. Mukhamadullin spent the next few days being evaluated to determine the severity of the injury, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

Warsofsky would not say what the injury is and could not confirm whether it would require surgery.

“We’re not there yet,” Warsofsky said when asked if surgery was possible for Mukhamadullin.

After he collided with Troy Terry in the neutral zone, a play that knocked down the Ducks forward, Mukhamadullin was grabbed by Anaheim winger Frank Vatrano, who dropped his stick, threw his gloves down, grabbed the Sharks blueliner and dragged him to the ice.

Mukhamadullin, not expecting Vatrano to come after him, tried to brace his fall by putting his left arm down before the Ducks forward moved over top of him. Mukhamadullin landed awkwardly and later sat up and winced in pain as he reached for his upper body. A team trainer assisted him to the Sharks’ dressing room.

Before the injury, Mukhamadullin was on the Sharks’ top defense pair, playing with Mario Ferraro and averaging more than 20 minutes in ice time per game.

“It’s unfortunate. He was playing some good hockey,” Warsofsky said of Mukhamadullin. “That’s how this game works; there’s injuries that will happen. In every sport, there’s going to be some adversity, and this kid’s going through his adversity at a young age.”

The last-place Sharks, eliminated from playoff contention last month, have only five games remaining after Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames at SAP Center. They will play their last game on April 16 at home against the Edmonton Oilers.

Last month, Mukhamadullin and forward Collin Graf were briefly returned to the AHL just before the NHL trade deadline on March 7 so both would be eligible to play when the Calder Cup playoffs began.

The Barracuda, who play their final regular-season game on April 20 in Calgary, are on the verge of clinching a spot in the playoffs, which begin shortly afterward.

TOFFOLI OUT >> Leading goal scorer Tyler Toffoli did not play Monday and is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Warsofsky said. Toffoli will likely travel with the team to start the trip.

Warsofsky said Toffoli has been dealing with the injury since the days following the 4 Nations Face Off break in late February. Toffoli has a team-high 28 goals this season and is third on the Sharks with 50 points.

Nikolai Kovalenko, a healthy scratch for the last six games before Monday, took Toffoli’s spot in the lineup.

MUSTY ARRIVES >> Forward Quentin Musty, one of the Sharks’ two first-round draft picks in 2023, is expected to begin practicing with the Barracuda today.

Musty, 19, just finished his fourth and likely final season of junior hockey last week, as he and the Sudbury Wolves were swept in their best-of-7 series against the Kingston Frontenacs in the opening round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

Musty had four points in three playoff games after he had 59 points in 33 regular-season games with the Wolves. Musty sat out the first month of Sudbury’s season after he requested a trade, returned on Nov. 1, but sustained a broken hand on Nov. 24 and didn’t play again until Jan. 12.

In 189 regular-season games with Sudbury over four seasons, Musty had 270 points, including a 102-point season in 2023-24.