How is Kirill Kaprizov’s recovery from surgery coming along?

As Elton John once sang, “It’s gonna be a long, long time.” Or at least longer than the Minnesota Wild had hoped. That was the official word that came down from the team this week.

Kaprizov’s recovery from the lower body injury that has limited the Russian superstar to just three games since Christmas is taking longer than originally anticipated, although the team still expects him back in the lineup at some point this season.

Added to that bad news about the team’s most notable impact forward, it was revealed Tuesday that forward Joel Eriksson Ek’s on-again, off-again relationship with the injury bug is back on, at least for now. The big Swede is headed to the injured reserve list with a lower body injury. That means he is unavailable for, at minimum, the next four games.

After the team’s Tuesday morning skate, however, head coach John Hynes said to expect a longer absence for the gritty center and special teams stalwart.

Eriksson Ek returned unscathed from the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he had a goal and an assist in three games for Team Sweden, and played in Saturday’s overtime win at Detroit. But his lower body injury came to light following the Wild’s Monday morning practice at TRIA Rink.

“Later in the day I got notice from the trainer that he was going to be out,” Hynes said. “I don’t know the actual extent, or exactly what it is yet, other than it’s going to be a few weeks. It wasn’t like one thing that happened where it was like, ‘OK this happened.’ I was a little bit surprised when I got the news.”

Eriksson Ek has missed 14 games with injuries this season, and he has nine goals and 15 assists in the 42 games he has played.

In this season where injuries have been such a big part of the story, and yet the Wild have remained in a solid playoff position, the “next man up” mantra will be employed once again.

“He’s a huge part of our team, so it sucks to see him go down, obviously,” Wild forward Matt Boldy said. “But, yeah, it is what it is. There’s no changing it now, so it’s up to the guys in the room that are healthy and in the lineup to make a difference every night.”

The day was not without some good news as forward Jakub Lauko made his way back to the Wild lineup for Tuesday’s rematch with Detroit.

He has been in and out since Thanksgiving while dealing with a lower body injury. And with the slight reduction in Ryan Hartman’s suspension, the team now has a time definite for his return — March 4 in Seattle.

“Obviously, you want to be out there every night with our guys. It’s hard to watch from the sideline,” said Hartman, speaking Tuesday to reporters for the first time since his altercation with Senators forward Tim Stutzle during a Feb. 1 loss in Ottawa.

“I wanna be out there battling and play with my brothers,” he said. “It’s an important time here for us to keep getting wins here, keep climbing the leaderboard and put yourself in a good spot for playoffs.”

In addition, the Wild placed seldom-used defenseman Travis Dermott on waivers Tuesday.

With two of their top forwards out of the lineup likely until sometime in March, at best, and the March 7 trade deadline approaching, one could realistically expect the Wild to acquire a forward. Of course, the budget is tight, with millions in dead money still on the books. But general manager Bill Guerin and his staff have proven to be adept at managing the team’s minimal fiscal wiggle room.

If there is offensive help to be had for a reasonable price, one should not be surprised to see the Wild make a move or two in the next nine days.