Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews talked about his treatment in Germany (Source: Imagn
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said he spent five days in Germany to receive treatment for an upper-body injury. Matthews traveled to Munich on Tuesday with Leafs physician Noah Forman to see a doctor he had worked with in the past.
“(The injury) flared up in preseason, felt better and then started getting worse,” he said on Saturday. “I just felt it was time to take a step back and re-evaluate. It hasn’t necessarily gotten worse, but it wasn’t getting better. I wanted to be proactive.”
🚨🎙️ Auston Matthews on spending five days in Germany:
“(The injury) flared up in pre-season, felt better, and then started getting worse. I just felt it was time to take a step back and re-evaluate. It hasn’t necessarily gotten worse, but it wasn’t getting better. I wanted to… pic.twitter.com/Qv8AEl7JVg
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) November 23, 2024
“Was a good day just to get back on the ice. We’ll take it day-to-day, continue to try to progress on the ice and see how this week looks and feels. Obviously I’d love to get out there. I mean (Sunday), not realistic, but Wednesday possibly.”
On Tuesday, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said that the trip was planned to ensure Matthews received proper care and avoided long-term problems.
“We haven’t been trying to be cryptic with all this stuff,” Treliving said (via The Hockey News). “We’ve been calling him day-to day-because that’s what he’s been. … We’re hopeful that once we get through the week here, he’ll be back up and skating and his return to play would be after that.”
Matthews returned to the ice on Saturday for the first time since Nov. 9. Treliving hinted that Matthews could play in Sunday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club but might wait until Nov. 27.
In 13 games this season, Matthews has recorded five goals and six assists.
Insider Darren Dreger on Auston Matthews’ injury
TSN insider Darren Dreger shared his thoughts on Auston Matthews’ injury and possible return on TSN 1050’s “First Up” on Friday.
“I’m certainly not going to say Sunday, and I’m not going to say the game after that because we’ve been playing this kind of dartboard game with Auston Matthews return for the last two-plus weeks,” Dreger said. “So I’m not going to do that. But I do like the fact that Matthews saw enough value and needed to invest, and did.”
However, Dreger questioned the idea of flying long hours with an injury, even in business class. He also added that if the treatment works, Matthews’ issue should not cause problems moving forward.
