SAN JOSE — Logan Couture resumed practice Sunday, but the Sharks aren’t offering a timetable for his return to game action.

Couture underwent emergency surgery for an arterial bleed in his right thigh Dec. 10, just two days after his return from a fractured right fibula, and has missed the past six games.

The 26-year-old forward, who skated with the team for the first 10 minutes of Sunday’s practice, said he needs to strengthen the muscles in his right thigh before he can suit up for an actual game.

“They cut me open, so it was a full surgery,” he said. “My leg was really stiff for a while; it damaged some of the muscles. It took awhile just to come back to normal and now it’s just strength and conditioning. … It’s just that it’s not as strong as my left leg and not as strong as it used to be.”

Coach Pete DeBoer said Couture is taking steps in the right direction.

“It was a great positive day today,” he said. “He was out on his own and then stayed out for a few drills with us. He’s got full range of motion and we’re taking some real good steps here. We’ve played without him for a long time and I just want to make sure that when we get him back he’s good to go.”

Couture said he felt a Charley horse sensation in his right thigh during the first period of a Dec. 9 game at Edmonton. As the game progressed, Couture’s leg stiffened up to the point where he could barely skate, forcing him out of the game in the second period.

The situation took a serious turn during the flight back to San Jose.

“There was an artery, there was a hole in it, so what it basically was doing was, your heart beat, when you pump out blood through your arteries, it was just pumping into my leg instead,” Couture said.

He said he’s grateful things didn’t turn out worse.

“This was really the first surgery I’ve ever had where I was really scared and nervous going into it. Anything with a broken leg, a shoulder or a wrist, you kind of know what’s going to happen. When you have internal bleeding, you never know, so I was very scared actually.”

Couture suffered the injury in just his second game back from the broken leg, which occurred in practice Oct. 15. Couture underwent surgery to repair his right ankle Oct. 17 and missed the Sharks’ next 23 games. The injuries were unrelated, Couture said, echoing what the team had said at the time of the second injury.

The Sharks are 14-14-1 without Couture.

“I’ve played four games out of (34), so it hasn’t been a good year,” he said.

Forward Joel Ward will make his return to the lineup Monday against Colorado. Ward missed two games with an upper-body injury after taking a head-first hit into the boards from Ottawa defenseman Mark Borowiecki on Dec. 18. “The rest was very helpful,” Ward said. “I think it was just a little bit better for my mind, too. Put it at ease.”