Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. – Andrej Meszaros won’t commit to playing in Boston Saturday afternoon, but signs seem to point to his return.

Meszaros hasn’t played since Jan. 24, when he dislocated his left shoulder in a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers. He’s been cleared for contact, and was estimated to be a week to 10 days from returning to the game back in mid-February.

On Friday morning, the Flyers assigned forward Harry Zolnierczyk to the Adirondack Phantoms, freeing up a roster spot for Meszaros. The 27-year-old defenseman has been on long-term injured reserve since Feb. 23.

But Meszaros, who said he felt “all right” participating in a brief practice before departing for Boston working alongside partner Erik Gustafsson, remained noncommittal about plans to return.

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “We’ll see. I have to talk to everybody.”

It’s been a frustrating past year for Meszaros, who had put together an iron man streak of 298 games without an injury before undergoing back surgery last winter and missing all but one of the Flyers’ playoff games. After that, he tore his right Achilles tendon over the summer. He’s played only four games this season.

And with his team having lost its last two and falling quickly through the standings, his frustration has only grown.

“A long time ago, I want to be out there,” Meszaros said. “But at the same time, if you can’t, you can’t. Stick with it, get healthy, heal and go when you’re ready.”

This has been a tough season for the Flyers as far as injuries go, with key players from Matt Read to Scott Hartnell to Tye McGinn all missing significant time. But while both Read and Hartnell rushed to return before they were entirely healed, Meszaros has been perhaps overly cautious and slow to work his way back.

His teammates are ready to have him back, though. Even if he isn’t quite 100 percent yet.

“I think he adds a different element of the game than a [Braydon] Coburn or [Nick] Grossmann brings,” Hartnell said. “He jumps up in the play a lot. He’s got great hands. He’s got a big shot. Not that those guys don’t, but he can definitely bring a different element to the blue line. If he’s feeling 80, 90 percent, we’d love to have him.”