Ailing Rangers will have to keep waiting for an injury reprieve

Losers of four straight and seven of their past eight, the Rangers could use help from anywhere.

At this point, though, it doesn’t appear that it’s going to come from any of their key players on injured reserve, with coach Mike Sullivan saying Tuesday that none are particularly close to even getting back on the ice.

Adam Fox remains on long-term IR with a lower-body injury and won’t be able to return to the lineup until Jan. 31 at the earliest and while Igor Shesterkin could return before then, he needs to progress more — as do Conor Sheary and Adam Edstrom.

Asked Tuesday if any could begin skating within the next week, Sullivan said he’d need to check on the details of each player, but added, “I think they’re a little further away.”

That means more time with some makeshift defensive pairings, as well as a continued heavy workload on Jonathan Quick, who has started all three games since replacing Shesterkin in the loss to Utah on Jan. 5.

Sullivan said he’s spoken with Quick about playing more frequently, as Quick turns 40 later this month.

“He’s embraced the challenge,’’ Sullivan said of Quick. “We want to set him up for success. We don’t want the workload to cause diminishing returns. It’s something we’re gonna have to watch.”

Quick said after practice Tuesday in Tarrytown he’s holding up well so far.

“Body feels good [and] energy feels good,’’ Quick said.

Like the rest of the team, Quick has struggled at times in recent games, as the Rangers have lost all three of his starts heading into Wednesday’s game against Ottawa.

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“When you go through stretches like this as a team, you think about your individual game and how you could be better and you need 20 guys to think that way and improve a little,’’ Quick said.

And it’s not just the players on IR that are dealing with health woes, as Matt Rempe was held out of Monday’s loss because he’s still feeling the effects of the broken thumb that sidelined him earlier in the season and J.T. Miller hasn’t looked 100 percent since his return.

“That’s the challenge,’’ Sullivan said. “All these guys want to play. That’s the nature of the NHL. Are they healthy enough and [do they] feel good enough to make an impact on the game? That’s the question I always try to ask. These guys want to be in the lineup.”

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Since notching a goal and a pair of assists Dec. 23 in a win at Washington, Will Cuylle hasn’t registered a point. In that eight-game stretch, the Rangers have won only once, but Cuylle has so far remained on the top line alongside Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.

Sullivan said he wants Cuylle to get back to more of a “north-south,” straight-ahead game. Cuylle agreed, but also noted he — like the rest of the team — needs to cut down on turning over the puck.

He has three giveaways over the previous two games.

“As a group, we need to be more ‘north-south,” Cuylle said. “But we need to eliminate the turnovers, especially around the blue line.”