Seton Hall has won nine straight games, is off to a program-record 7-0 start in the Big East and is about to get even better.

Sandro Mamukelashvili, the team’s starting power forward and arguably its second-best player after preseason All-American Myles Powell, is expected to return on Wednesday against DePaul after missing the past seven weeks with a fractured right wrist, according to coach Kevin Willard.

“We’re definitely dealing with a best-case scenario,” Willard said in a phone interview. “He looks pretty good. He’s just trying to get his legs back under him and trying to get his feel back. I wouldn’t call him rusty.”

Mamukelashvili, out since Dec. 8, returned to practice fully on Friday. Willard, though, isn’t going to just throw the versatile 6-foot-11 junior back into the fire. He won’t start for the 10th-ranked Pirates (15-4) against DePaul and will be brought along slowly. The Seton Hall coach wouldn’t put a number on how many minutes Mamukelashvili will play. It will depend on the game, how he feels and how he’s performing. The hope is he’s back feeling like himself by the end of February.

“I’m not putting any pressure on Sandro,” Willard said. “He’s going to work his way back in and take his time. I want him feeling healthy and confident on the floor. I think that’s the big thing.”

At the time of his injury, Mamukelashvili was averaging 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting a team-best 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Without him, Seton Hall fared far better than expected, a credit to the play of sophomore Jared Rhoden and freshman Tyrese Samuel in his place. Rhoden, in particular, has performed well, averaging 9.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in the 10 games Mamukelashvili missed.

But getting Mamukelashvili back gives Seton Hall added depth and the ability to match up better with smaller teams that will look to stretch the floor. It will allow Willard to use Rhoden at the three, which is his more natural position, and even play Mamukelashvili at the five on occasion.

“It’s giving us some more options, especially with the way Creighton plays, the way Villanova plays. It gives us a lot more options to be able to match up with people and be able to play different,” Willard said. “With his experience, the way he was performing before he got hurt, getting him back to that level is only going to help us.”