EDMONTON — The long-awaited return of Zach Hyman is going to take a little bit longer.

The Edmonton Oilers winger won’t be ready to play Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, the first opportunity he could have come off LTIR from a dislocated right wrist.

“He looks ready to go. I want to put him in. Our medical staff is holding him back,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said in jest after Wednesday’s practice in which Hyman was a full participant. “I don’t think it’s fair.”

Instead, Knoblauch called his status week to week, while noting Hyman could return as early as Nov. 8 against the Colorado Avalanche. The 33-year-old Hyman is itching to make his season debut.

“I’ll tell you I’m ready to go because that’s how I feel,” Hyman said. “The doctors are the ones who are there to protect you from yourself at times and make sure, when you do return, that you’re able and ready.

“That’s how I feel, but they know more than I do. I feel really good. I feel close.”

Hyman was injured in Game 5 of the Western Conference final on a neutral-zone hit by then-Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment. He missed the rest of that series and the Stanley Cup Final, the last seven games of the playoff run.

That incident happened exactly five months ago, on May 29.

“It was a very serious injury,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “He’s someone that we obviously care about, somebody that I spend the summer with training. To see him go through this rehab has been difficult. It hasn’t been easy for him.

“Whenever those things happen, it’s just a reminder of the human side of the game. These are real bodies. These are real people with emotions. These are setbacks that are big.”

Hyman is the Oilers’ best natural winger. His absence was apparent as the team struggled offensively for the first couple of weeks of the season. Not only can he produce, his physicality and net-front presence — both at five-on-five and on the power play — were also removed from the lineup.

“He provides a lot of things that we’ve been looking for,” McDavid said. “It’ll be nice to get him back whenever that is.”

Hyman had 27 goals and 44 points in 73 games last season before adding five goals and 11 points in 15 playoff games. In 2023-24, he netted 54 goals, plus another 16 in the postseason. That tied him with former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Auston Matthews for tops in the NHL with 70 goals between the regular season and playoffs.