The forward is week to week after he was injured midway through the first period of a 5-4 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
"Last time I looked, a week is seven days," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said Friday. "You're always hopeful the guy is going to respond to treatment and that it's not as bad as we thought it was. If you want to put a timetable on it, there never really is one. He'll be ready to play when he's ready to play.
"At least the early indicators from my eyes, he's in there right now working out, he's much further along than when he scared the death out of me after that game the other night. We'll see where it goes. I'm hoping on the optimistic side right now and I'm hoping I'm not wrong."
With Getzlaf on IR, the Ducks (13-8-4) recalled center
Benoit-Olivier Groulx
from San Diego of the American Hockey League.
Getzlaf leads the Ducks in assists (19) and is second in points (20) behind Troy Terry (25) in 23 games. Getzlaf was playing on the top line with Terry and Adam Henrique and was replaced by Sam Steel.
Steel, who did not play the first three games this season, had scored five points (four goals, one assist) in 18 games.
"The opportunity, if you want to hit one person right away, is for Sam Steel," Eakins said. "'Steeler' found himself on the outside of the lineup early and he handled it with nothing but putting his head down, working his butt off and a no-nonsense approach. He's found himself on the wing, which isn't his natural position, and now he gets back into his natural position (center) with two excellent players.
"We want Troy to keep playing Troy's game and Adam playing Adam's game. Then Steeler can come in, grab the minutes and spread his wings offensively."
Getzlaf, who scored 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 48 games last season, is first in Ducks history with 1,002 points (280 goals, 722 assists) in 1,124 games over 17 seasons.
The 36-year-old captain, who signed a one-year contract with Anaheim in the offseason, is averaging 19:01 of ice time per game, up from 16:35 last season.
"For me, he's everything [to us]," Eakins said. "When you get older, your minutes should not catch up to your age. He's playing unbelievable minutes for us. He's playing minutes on a team that's winning more than not. He's been an incredible leader in the room. He chose to stay here and see this through. For me, he's been 1A in that dressing room in pushing everything we need to do to get better."
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Arritt contributed to this report
