Brady Tkachuk will return for the Ottawa Senators when they visit the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Friday (4 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, TSN5, RDSI).

The Ottawa captain and forward has been out since injuring his thumb in the third game of the season on Oct. 13 against the Nashville Predators and having surgery four days later.

“I’m very thankful and very grateful for the people that helped me get back,” Tkachuk said Thursday. “I’m thankful to be able to play the game I love again. It was a long six weeks, there were some tough stretches, there were some highs and some lows, and I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to be playing again and I’m really excited to be able to join the boys.”

Tkachuk missed 20 games; the Senators (12-7-4) have gone 11-5-4 without him and are second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (14-7-2).

“I’m super proud of the effort that they put in and how they just elevated the standard,” Tkachuk said. “For me, I’m just looking to join into that and join what they’ve been building for the last six weeks. They’ve been doing an amazing job and I’m just so excited to be able to join that and elevate it anyway that I can.”

Tkachuk has three assists in three games this season. His return will come in front of family and friends, having grown up in St. Louis where his father Keith played for the Blues for nine seasons.

“If it’s not playing in Ottawa, I think this is top of the list,” Tkachuk said of his return. “We only come here once a year and I feel like it always happens around Thanksgiving, which I’m very grateful for, because a lot of my friends are going to be around this week, so I’ll be able to see them after the game and even met some today.

“It kind of made everything go a little better knowing this was the game I wanted to play and was pushing to play in, knowing that it was going to be a special moment to be back playing the game that I love in front of the people that I love. It’s going to be a special moment and grateful that I’m going to be able to do what I love again.”

Ottawa is playing the fifth of a seven-game road trip, which concludes with games at the Dallas Stars on Sunday and Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Ottawa won 4-3 in a shootout at the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Tkachuk said he was back skating six days after his surgery but was not able to hold a stick for four weeks. He has been traveling and practicing with the Senators on their road trip.

“Quite honestly, I thought the shooting would take a little bit longer, but the shot felt good from the start,” Tkachuk said. “For the last two weeks, I’ve been doing all the conditioning, doing all the bag skating and being able to stickhandle and shoot and feeling really good and confident in that, and taking face-offs in practice. I feel really good.”

Tkachuk was injured when he crashed into the end boards after being cross-checked from behind by Predators defenseman Roman Josi at 5:15 of the first period of a 4-1 loss. Tkachuk tore ligaments in his right thumb bracing himself for the impact. He attempted to play the rest of the game but was forced to leave midway through the third period.

Tkachuk is anxious to get back in the lineup and is confident he will be able to get back up to speed quickly. He is expected to play for the United States at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The forward was one of the first six players named to the Team USA preliminary roster on June 16.

“I’ve been hurt before, but I know that I’m going to trust all the work that I’ve put in, trust all the skating and conditioning that turned that steep hill into a steady road,” Tkachuk said. “I won’t expect perfection right away and for me, it’s about adapting to situations, adapting to way the game is going. I know what my mindset is going to be tomorrow, a simple and worth-ethic game. I’m not going to think about anything that I can’t control.”

Selected by Ottawa with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Tkachuk is in his eighth season with the Senators. The 26-year-old has 407 points (191 goals, 216 assists) in 515 games. He was named captain prior to the 2021-22 season.

Tkachuk had 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists) in 72 games last season and helped Ottawa qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in six playoff games when the Senators were eliminated in the first round by the Toronto Maple Leafs.