(KMSP) - Minnesota Wild player Zach Parise will miss the first two games of the season due to a back injury.
While head coach Bruce Boudreau recently said he expected Parise to practice with the team after training camp, that has since changed.
Parise, who tweaked his back a few weeks before training camp, has only skated with his teammates a couple times since, according to the team website.
Parise also injured his back two seasons ago, preventing him from playing in the postseason. He played in 69 games last season, "battling a couple of minor ailments as well as three different bouts with strep throat."
The team is hopeful that Parise can return to practice in a week.
In the short term, the Wild must find a 12th forward to ice against the Red Wings and Hurricanes. Daniel Winnik, in camp on a professional tryout, could be an option. Manager Chuck Fletcher said he's also considering a couple of other players currently on waivers from other teams, according to the site.
"Fletcher said on Monday that the team has the money to add a forward, but if the club decides it needs some extra cash to shore up its group, how to make the dollars and cents could figure into who suits up on Minnesota's blue line this weekend," according to the site.
The Opening Night roster is due tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Minnesota's current roster stands at 22 players, one under the League maximum.