For once, Dominik Hasek isn't the goalie whose injury woes have left the Red Wings shorthanded.

Detroit general manager Ken Holland announced Tuesday that backup Chris Osgood will miss three to four weeks with a fractured left wrist.

Osgood practiced Monday for the first time since Nov. 12, when he was hit in practice by a shot on the inside of the wrist. He said the wrist was sore, but he didn't think it was broken. Because of the swelling, X-rays taken a week ago didn't reveal anything.

"I thought it would feel better today, after not taking any shots for a while, but it doesn't feel as good as I thought," Osgood told the Red Wings' Web site after practice, before learning the wrist was broken. "I had broken hands before; [this] is not the same thing."

Holland said the team will use Joey MacDonald as Hasek's backup while Osgood is out. Despite the possible risk of injury if Hasek enters a game cold as the backup, Holland said the Red Wings won't recall top prospect Jimmy Howard from AHL Grand Rapids but might recall Stefan Liv for games MacDonald starts.

"My feeling is we'll go with the two goalies and Dom will be on the bench when he doesn't start," Holland was quoted as saying on the Red Wings' Web site. "But, that could change between now and [today]."

He also said that the Red Wings won't overplay Hasek in Osgood's absence and will stick to their plan of not starting the Dominator on consecutive nights, which means MacDonald will likely start Friday at St. Louis and Hasek will start Wednesday against Vancouver and Saturday at Nashville.

"Our schedule gets hectic in December; we're going to have to sort this thing out as we go," Holland said. "We certainly don't want to overplay Dom. We're taking it day-to-day.

"I thought Joey played well the other night [in a 4-3 shootout loss in Edmonton]. This is a good chance for Joey to play and for us to assess him. I think he's an NHL goaltender," Holland said.