Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Breaks His Silence on Mysterious Injury

Auston Matthews has been sidelined for the past 3 weeks with a mysterious upper-body injury, but despite his current status on injured reserve, the captain himself has confirmed that his stint on IR is close to finished as he nears full health.

Matthews skated before Leafs practice on Saturday, which was a very positive sign. He also spoke with the media after his morning skate, speaking about his injury publicly for the first time.

As far as a potential return, Matthews himself expressed that it was highly unlikely that he'd play on Sunday against Utah. He did confirm, however, that there is a real possibility that he'll suit up on Wednesday in Florida

After posting a career high 69 goals and 107 points last season, Matthews came out of the gates a lot slower in 2024-25. Battling through injury during the pre-season and having the injury flare up during the early stages of the regular season certainly explains the mediocre start.

With Matthews having travelled to Germany for treatment and actually seeing an improvement is certainly encouraging.

Leafs GM Brad Treliving had previously stated that the team would be patient and wait for Matthews to be at 100% before bringing him back into the fold. His comments about potentially playing on Wednesday mean that he's nearing 100% health, which spells trouble for the rest of the NHL.