Programming note: Sharks-Canucks coverage starts tonight at 7pm with Sharks Pregame Live on NBC Sports California, and streaming with the NBC Sports App. (CHANNEL LISTINGS)

An update on injured Sharks center Joe Thornton is expected from the team later Tuesday morning, but one of his former teammates has already spoken to Thornton regarding what looked like a left knee injury suffered in Vancouver on Saturday.

Jeremy Roenick, on his weekly podcast, “Roenick Life” on Monday, said: “I talked to him [Sunday] night. He’s having an MRI today. He said it didn’t feel good.”

Roenick said he has had the type of injury that Thornton appeared to suffer against the Canucks, when his left knee bent awkwardly back in a collision with Michael Chaput.

“I asked him the symptoms that he had, and his symptoms – the big swelling, the stiffness. To me, that leads right to MCL sprain. I don’t think it’s a huge tear,” said Roenick, who played with Thornton and the Sharks from 2007-09.

If Roenick – who is obviously not a doctor, and has not examined Thornton – is correct, then Thornton’s recovery time would depend on how severe the MCL sprain is. Some players can recover from MCL sprains in a few days, while others take months of rehab.

The Sharks have three games remaining in the regular season before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin next week.