Details of Injury to Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Leaked by Top NHL Insider

Injured last Tuesday against the Boston Bruins, Auston Matthews has only recently begun skating again. The good news is that the 28-year-old remained on the ice and was a full participant in practice on Thursday morning, albeit skating as an extra during line rushes.

The Leafs have been rather quiet about his injury, only stating that it is a lower-body ailment.

On Thursday evening, TSN's Chris Johnston revealed that the lower-body issue that Matthews is dealing with is actually a muscle injury.

Both Johnston and his colleague, Darren Dreger, believe Matthews will not be available for Saturday's game due to the Leafs' schedule.

After Saturday's game, the Leafs don't play again until Wednesday, meaning the Leafs captain would get an extra three days of rest.

As Johnston noted, given that Matthews' injury responds to rest, it wouldn't exactly make sense to rush him back into the lineup, even though the team lost on Thursday night.

Of course, his return for Saturday will depend on how he feels, but based on what is now known, it would be more of a surprise to see him in the lineup than not.

Matthews did his best to play through a lingering issue all of last season, but perhaps the Leafs have learned their lesson this time around and are forcing the former first-round pick to sit until he gets a clean bill of health.

It may not be ideal for the team right now, but it's far more beneficial in the long run to have him miss regular season games over post-season games.

If Matthews is unable to return mid-week next week, we may be looking at the situation as a larger issue -- especially if the team continues to lose games at an alarming rate.