ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber returned to practice with the team on Thursday, moving closer to making his regular season debut that was delayed by a fractured skull.

Wild coach John Hynes said Faber has been cleared by team doctors to play, but the 24-year-old still needs to ramp up his strength and conditioning to be ready for game action. Faber won't play in either of Minnesota's home games on Friday or Saturday, Hynes said, but he's scheduled to be on the next road trip that begins on Tuesday at Montreal.

Faber was hit on the side of his helmet near the left ear hole by a shot in a preseason game on Sept. 25 and later taken to a hospital for surgery after his condition worsened. Faber logged the ninth-most minutes of any player in the NHL last season and had a career-high 51 points in 80 games.

The Wild lead the Central Division with 25 points at 11-3-3, despite the absence of Faber and other key players to injuries. Captain Jared Spurgeon, who replaced Faber on the top defensive pair with Quinn Hughes, suffered a lower-body injury and has missed the last seven games. Spurgeon will also join the Wild for the road trip next week along with forwards Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno and goalie Filip Gustavsson, who has yet to play this season while recovering from hip surgery. The Foligno brothers have each been out for a month due to upper body injuries.

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