Matthews skates, could return for Maple Leafs next week

Forward who has missed 7 games with injury will 'see how the week goes'

TORONTO — Auston Matthews skated prior to Toronto Maple Leafs practice on Saturday and did not rule out returning next week from an upper-body injury.

The center, who has missed the past seven games, recently returned from a five-day trip to Germany for consultation on his injury.

The Maple Leafs host the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, Utah16, NHLN) before travelling to face the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

“Today was a good day to get back on the ice,” Matthews said. “It’s been probably over a week since I’ve been on the ice so we will take day to day, continue to try to progress in the ice and see how this week looks and feels. Obviously I want to get out there. Tomorrow not realistic but Wednesday possible, but we will just see how the week goes.”

Matthews, who has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 games this season, last played on November 3 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. Toronto has gone 6-1-0 without him in the lineup.

After his recovery was not progressing as hoped, he and the team decided to visit the doctor injured Germany, someone both Matthews and other Maple Leafs have visited in the past, for further consultation. He declined to offer any specifics about the nature of the injury apart from it being an upper-body injury, although Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube previously said it was not related to a wrist injury that led to Matthews having surgery to correct the issue after the 2020-21 season.

“It kind of flared up a little bit in preseason and then it felt better and then it was just kind of getting worse, so I thought it was time to kind of take a step back and kind of reevaluate it and take it day by day,” Matthews said. “It hadn’t necessarily gotten worse but it wasn’t really getting better, so I wanted to be proactive.”

The Maple Leafs captain said he is “night and day” different from where he was at initially, and is confident the injury is behind him.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Matthews said. “It’s good to be back and see the guys. I think that was the toughest about being away and being hurt was not being around the team as much. … I’m feeling a lot better now and we’re just going to continue to progress over the next couple of days and see where we are at.”