Toronto Maple Leafs ahead Auston Matthews intends to return Saturday evening in opposition to the Tampa Bay Lightning, he advised reporters Friday.
Matthews hasn’t performed since Nov. 3 whereas recovering from an undisclosed upper-body harm that’s associated to a problem he has handled because the preseason.
Matthews, talking to reporters Friday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, described a visit to Munich to see a specialist about his harm. That was adopted by every week of exercises at dwelling and his second full observe with the Leafs on Friday.
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“In my thoughts I am again and excited to play tomorrow,” Matthews mentioned, in keeping with the Toronto Solar.
Matthews, 27, clocked over 22 minutes in that Nov. 3 sport in opposition to Minnesota earlier than being positioned on injured reserve. He has recorded 11 factors (5 objectives, 6 assists) in 13 video games this season.
The Toronto captain led the NHL in objectives scored for the third time in 4 seasons in 2023-24, tallying a career-high 69 to associate with 38 assists in 81 video games.
The Maple Leafs are 13-7-2 this season.
Data from ESPN’s Kristen Shilton was included on this report.