Ducks’ injury woes continue as Ryan Getzlaf is put on injured reserve because of an eye injury

The litany of Ducks injuries is reaching comical proportions, only Randy Carlyle isn’t laughing.

The coach has more adjustments to make after it was revealed Tuesday that Ryan Getzlaf would be sidelined for at least the next three games.

About 94% of NHL players wear visors that protect their eyes — based on rosters submitted to the league at the beginning of the season — but the Ducks captain isn’t one of them. He was grandfathered in and isn’t forced to adhere to the visor rule mandated by the NHL in 2013.

He paid for that Sunday when a deflected puck struck him in the left eye and caused him to exit the game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The All-Star center was placed on injured reserve and will be re-evaluated Monday.

He won’t suit up until the swelling around his eye subsides, but this is just the latest ailment to befall the team’s points leader each of the last five seasons.

“You can only coach the players who are available to you,� Carlyle said Tuesday after practice. “When they get injured and what-not, you really have no control over that.

�... There’s no feeling sorry for yourself. There’s nobody in the league who is going to feel sorry for you. Everybody has to deal with injuries at their own time.�

The Ducks, though, are among the league leaders in man games lost. Injury after key injury has forced them to scramble, and Carlyle said the Ducks are still searching for an identity as they deal with so many different player combinations.

Getzlaf, 32, missed the team’s first three games with a lower-body injury sustained during the preseason. He returned for the fourth game, but aggravated the ailment and was shelved until the Ducks’ breakthrough four-game trip last week, when he produced five of his seven points in the first three games.

The Ducks went 3-1 on the trip, including a most impressive victory Saturday over the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning, and enter Wednesday’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 6-4-1 record.

“We don’t want to make any grandiose statements about where we are as a team or what we’ve accomplished,� Carlyle said. “ … Even when you have a full roster at times there are challenges that need to be met.�

The Ducks inched closer to a full roster with the returns of top-four defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen last week, both of whom underwent offseason surgeries to repair torn labrums.

Ryan Miller, the team’s No. 2 goaltender, also was welcomed back. But Cam Fowler is out for at least the next three weeks with a right knee injury. Ryan Kesler (hip) is out until December at the earliest, and Patrick Eaves won’t be playing any time soon as he battles Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The team did receive some good news on the injury front when veteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa was re-evaluated Monday and deemed day to day with the left hand injury he suffered during a fight with Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas.

The Ducks also got a scare when John Gibson left practice early following a routine save and immediately removed the blocker from his right hand. Carlyle said that Gibson was struck in his groin.

DUCKS NEXT UP

VS. TORONTO

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 830.

Update: Ducks rookie Kalle Kossila was recalled to replace Getzlaf. The center has two points in two games this season. … The Ducks will face former starting goalie Frederik Andersen, who has struggled this season for the Leafs. He owns an .896 save percentage along with a 3.46 goals-against-average in 11 starts. … The Ducks won both games against Toronto last season.