The Minnesota Wild will have two pivotal players in the lineup Thursday for the first time since late December.Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon will play against the Utah Hockey Club, sources told The Athletic's Michael Russo.

As per Michael Russo, the Minnesota Wild are set to activate Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon from the injured reserve and long-term injured reserve.

The Minnesota Wild host the Utah Hockey Club Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center, and could be getting two of their best players back from injury. Forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon were on the ice with the team at practice on Wednesday at TRIA Rink.

Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) was placed on the Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR), Marcus Johansson (concussion) was placed on the Injured Reserve, Ben Jones was sent to Iowa, Jakub Lauko (lower body) was activated off LTIR and Brendan Gaunce, Liam Ohgren, and Devin Shore were recalled.

The move was necessary to make the call-ups needed to have a full roster. It's retroactive, so Kaprizov can return whenever he's ready.

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes said he is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon will return to the lineup against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.

The Wild's Kirill Kaprizov is expected to play Thursday after a longer-than-expected break for injury. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Kaprizov has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury that has required lots of treatments and pushed-back timetables.

Leading Wild goal scorer Kirill Kaprizov has missed multiple games with a lower-body injury, but his return could be imminent.