SAN JOSE >> Injured center Macklin Celebrini appeared as spry as ever Thursday morning as he rejoined the Sharks for on-ice drills, but it remains unclear when the 18-year-old wunderkind will be ready to play again.

Celebrini has not played since the Sharks’ season opener on Oct. 10, when he had a goal and an assist against the St. Louis Blues in his dazzling NHL debut. However, he had a recurrence of a hip issue that he had dealt with since training camp that night and was placed on injured reserve by the Sharks on Oct. 12.

Celebrini resumed skating over a week ago and was seen on the ice for over two hours on Tuesday. On Thursday, he skated with the team and remained on the ice with other Sharks players who were set to be healthy scratches for the game against the Blackhawks.

The Sharks will be patient with Celebrini’s recovery to help him overcome the injury once and for all. His status officially remains week-to-week.

“As part of his rehabilitation plan, Macklin will return to team activities today,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “He has made positive progress over the past several weeks, and this will be the next step toward returning to the active roster.

“We will continue to monitor his progress, but no date has yet been set for his return to game action.”

The Sharks (2-7-2) lost their first eight games without Celebrini in the lineup but bounced back to win their last two before Thursday, including a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

“Obviously, he’s an extremely important player. You saw it in the first game,” Sharks center Nico Sturm said of Celebrini. “And I’m sure he wants to get into a rhythm finally. It’s already almost November, and he probably wants to feel what it’s like to play three, four games every week.”

Celebrini was initially hurt during training camp last month, leaving midway through a Sept. 24 practice. He returned to practice the next day and played in an Oct. 1 preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club.

But Celebrini had to leave the game midway through the second period after he was tripped on a partial breakaway and fell hard into the end boards, exacerbating the injury.

The start of next month for the Sharks includes games against Celebrini’s hometown Canucks on Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, and Minnesota Wild on Nov. 7.

LILJEGREN ANXIOUS TO PLAY >> Defenseman Timothy Liljegren said he’ll be prepared to play again whenever Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky gives the word.

That’s not surprising, considering Liljegren was a healthy scratch with the Toronto Maple Leafs for all but one game this season.

“I’ll be ready,” Liljegren said Thursday morning at the Sharks’ practice facility, “whenever they call my name.”

The puck-moving Liljegren did not play Thursday, but it would be a surprise if he did not play Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks will determine that after today’s practice.

“He’s got that ability to see the ice really well, to make the right reads and execute. He’s got the puck skills to do those things,” Warsofsky said of Liljegren. “He can read forechecks, help break out pucks, and maybe trap an F3 to give us an odd-man situation.

“His vision and hockey sense with the puck (are) probably the biggest things that will help us.”

The Sharks acquired Liljegren from the Maple Leafs on Wednesday for fellow right-shot defenseman Matt Benning, a 2025 third-round selection, and San Jose’s 2026 sixth-round pick. Toronto will receive the earlier of the two third-round selections the Sharks own.

Liljegren, 25, signed a two-year, $6 million contract with Toronto as a restricted free agent this summer as the two sides avoided arbitration. But he admittedly didn’t have a great training camp and was often on the outside looking in, with new Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube opting to dress Conor Timmins as his third pair right shot defenseman instead.

As a result, Liljegren was a healthy scratch nine times in 10 games, which, naturally, affected his confidence.

Did Liljegren, now in his eighth North American professional season, feel he got a fair shot with Berube?

“I don’t know. We had a lot of competition, a lot of good (defensemen),” he said. “Some things didn’t really work out the way I wanted in camp, and I didn’t really play my best hockey either, so I wasn’t happy with how I was playing.”

Warsofsky said Liljegren would eventually be on the Sharks’ power play, playing up top like Jake Walman and Jack Thompson have been, but he wasn’t sure who he would pair with on the back end.

The Sharks could use more offense from their blue line. While Walman entered Thursday with eight points in 11 games, the six other defensemen the Sharks have played this season had a combined seven points. Walman has the only goal among all San Jose blueliners.

Liljegren played 55 games for the Leafs last season when he matched his career high with 23 points. He’ll seemingly have an opportunity to better those numbers in San Jose.

The critique of Liljegren is that while he’s not small at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, he’s not physical, which could have been why he fell out of favor with a no-nonsense coach like Berube. In 197 career NHL games, Liljegren is credited with 297 hits.

Warsofsky doesn’t expect Liljegren to become a thunderous body checker on the back end suddenly, but he also wants to see some physicality in his game.

“Each guy’s a little bit different. Some guys … they’re not going to put guys into Section 220,” Warsofsky said. “It’s moreso about positioning.”

STALEMATE ENDS >> Quentin Musty will return to the Sudbury Wolves this weekend, ending a nearly month-long standoff when the Sharks prospect requested a trade.

Sudbury general manager Rob Papineau confirmed to The Sudbury Star that Musty will rejoin the team on Friday when they play the Kitchener Rangers. Sudbury (7-5-0-0) also plays at Brantford on Saturday and Niagara on Sunday.

Musty, selected 26th overall by the Sharks at the 2023 NHL Draft, requested a trade from the Wolves earlier in October. Soon after Musty’s trade request became public, Sudbury’s management said it would listen to offers for the 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward but added that the 19-year-old would be welcomed back if he changed his mind.

Musty had been at his home in Western New York after the Sharks assigned him back to junior hockey on Sept. 30.