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Wild lose Cooke (sports hernia surgery) for six weeks

Matt Cooke

ST. PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 10: Matt Cooke #24 of the Minnesota Wild is congratulated by teammate Dany Heatley #15 after scoring a goal during the game against the Winnipeg Jets on October 10, 2013 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)

Good news, bad news day for Matt Cooke.

The good is that, contrary to earlier reports, he will return to play hockey this season.

The bad is that it won’t be for a while.

Cooke underwent sports hernia surgery today, the Wild announced, and will miss the next six weeks of action as a result. The 36-year-old, who’s only played 27 games this year, should be set to come back in mid-March but it remains to see how effective he’ll be upon his return -- after playing in all 82 games a season ago, Cooke’s struggled through an injury-plagued campaign while averaging less than 13 minutes per night.

With Cooke out of the lineup, it’s likely Jordan Schroeder -- recalled from AHL Iowa -- will stick with the Wild for a good while; the former first-round pick had four shots on goal in just over 10 minutes of action during Tuesday’s impressive 3-0 win over Chicago.