Mats Zuccarello Injury: What happened to Minnesota Wild forward?

The Minnesota Wild were without their forward Mats Zuccarello for the second time this season in their 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

The forward missed his first game of the season during the Wild's 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. Zuccarello is dealing with an upper-body injury and is listed as "week-to-week," the Minnesota Wild announced on Tuesday:

"Mats Zuccarello will not play tonight. He is week-to-week with an upper-body injury."

Ahead of Tuesday's matchup, the Wild head coach spoke on Zuccarello's injury and said (via NHL.com):

"It was something that was kind of lingering a little bit, so we just got it checked out this morning," said John Hynes.

The 36-year-old forward has been one of the best players for the team up front. Zuccarello leads the team in points (28) and assists (22).

His injury comes as a major setback for the Wild, as they are already without their two key defensemen, captain Jared Spurgeon (lower body) and Jonas Brodin (upper body).

Zuccarello was replaced by Vinni Letteri, who has accumulated four points on three goals and one assist in 14 games this season. Meanwhile, the Wild are seventh in the Central Division with 30 points.

Mats Zuccarello's career stats

Minnesota Wild v Washington Capitals

Zuccarello made his way to the NHL as an undrafted player and was signed by the New York Rangers in 2010. After playing for nine years with the Blue Shirts, the veteran forward had a brief stint of two games with the Dallas Stars.

Zuccarello joined the Minnesota Wild in the 2019-20 season. The 36-year-old has been with the team for the last five years. Overall, Zuccarello has notched up 601 points through 192 goals and 409 assists in his 14-year-long career of 794 games.

The veteran forward is on a two-year, $8,250,000 contract signed with the Wild in September.