Exclusive | Rick DiPietro has this Islanders warning for Ilya Sorokins rehab

An Islanders goalie signed a long-term contract and got hurt. Rick DiPietro has heard that one before. “If older Rick could go back and talk to young, dumb Rick, he would tell him to just take your time and relax,” DiPietro told The Post in a phone call Tuesday.“There’ll still be games when you get back.” He was speaking in the context of Ilya Sorokin, who underwent back surgery this summer and is expected to return sometime during training camp.

The specifics of Sorokin’s procedure, as well as its timing, are unknown, but general manager Lou Lamoriello has said Sorokin is skating on his own and isn’t expected to miss time in the regular season. The Russian superstar is in the first year of an eight-year, $66 million contract signed in July 2023, and the Islanders’ fortunes largely hinge on both his availability and level of play.DiPietro, who signed a 15-year deal with the Isles in 2006 and saw his career derailed by a series of injuries — mainly to his knee and hip — can relate to that more directly than most. His advice: Don’t rush it. “This is not one of those ones midway through the season, you’re trying to get back because it’s a playoff push,” DiPietro, who hosts a morning show with Dave Rothenberg on 98.7 ESPN Radio, said.

“If I were to advise him, I would say get to 100 percent.The reason why you had whatever [surgery] you had done was to get back to 100 percent because once the season starts and you start grinding — as you start is the best you’ll feel the entire season.

So I would say get to 100 percent, focus on your body, focus on strengthening whatever the area is, all those muscles that are attached to where he got the work done.And then from there, once you take that out of the gym and all the physical therapy stuff, he’s got his goalie coach [Sergei Naumovs] here now, so a lot of work with him. “And then you take those steps to go from working with your goalie coach, seeing pucks, getting your timin...