BREAKING: Merkley Out 7-10 Days with Wrist Injury

It was a surprise when Ryan Merkley missed last Tuesday’s game.

The San Jose Sharks star prospect had sat out the Barracuda’s Mar. 21 contest, but returned for the following Mar. 24 game.

“[Merkley] had an aggravated wrist, we just thought it would be best to let it settle down for a little bit,” Sommer told Brian Truong of San Jose Hockey Now after Merkley’s Mar. 21 absence. “It’s been bugging him for a while.”

Merkely, a goal and six assists in 17 games this year, recorded one shot in San Jose’s 4-3 shootout loss to Bakersfield on Mar. 24. With five days between Mar. 24 and Tuesday, there was no reason to believe that Merkley would miss any more games because of his wrist injury.

That is, until he did last Tuesday.

“He’s been skating,” Roy Sommer revealed to Truong yesterday, “but he just can’t do anything with pucks.”

That sounds scary: Prized offense-first prospect, in and out of the line-up because of a recurring wrist injury. Do the San Jose Sharks have anything to worry about with Merkley’s long-term health?

Good news – crisis averted. According to a source, Merkley’s wrist injury is expected to keep him out of the line-up for another 7-10 days. This puts Merkley in line to return either Apr. 6-7 against Henderson or Apr. 10-11 on the road.

For the San Jose Sharks, however, this is something to monitor. We’re also not sure how long Merkley has been nursing this injury. Has the injury affected his play this season?

Hopefully, Merkley can put this injury in his rearview mirror going forward.