Parse happy to return, but has no timetable

Scott Parse shed his red, no-contact jersey today and participated in his first full-team practice since he underwent hip surgery in November. It was a positive step for Parse, but don’t count on seeing him in full uniform any time soon. Parse said, after practice, that he is “not even close’’ to playing, and Darryl Sutter used even stronger words to indicate how far away Parse is from playing. In a near-identical situation last season, Parse attempted to come back in the playoffs but was ineffective in two games against San Jose and was scratched from the other four. Parse said, “It’s nice to feel like a player,’’ but said there was no timetable for his possible return.

PARSE: “No, not right now. But the hip feels good, so I’m happy about that. … There’s no schedule.’’

Question: You’ve now had surgery on both hips. Did they give you any explanation for what caused it?

PARSE: “Badly formed hips, and just wear and tear.’’

Darryl Sutter wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about Parse’s return to practice, as he said Parse “looks slow and he looks behind, and (he is) borderline in the way.’’ As for Kyle Clifford, a return for Game 5 seems doubtful. Clifford did conditioning skating for the previous two days but did not get on the ice today. Sutter was asked whether Clifford had suffered any type of setback.

SUTTER: “No, but it’s an injury that none of us in this room can… It becomes day-to-day. That’s protocol, right? He does what he was allowed to do.’’