Update on Injured Leafs Defenseman Simon Benoit a Potential Cause For Concern

Only days into training camp, Simon Benoit suffered an upper-body injury, but there was initially little to no concern from the Leafs about his recovery time.

Celebrating his 27th birthday on the opening day of training camp, the Laval, Quebec native has not taken to the ice since Thursday.

The Leafs did not skate on Monday, returning to practice on Tuesday morning ahead of their second pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Once again, Benoit was absent.

After practice, Craig Berube was asked for an update on the big, bruising defenseman. He noted that it wasn't believed to be serious, but wasn't sure when the Quebec native would return to the ice.

While Berube's update could be seen as positive, the Leafs kept injuries, and their level of severity, much more secretive last season l, with multiple players initially being reported as 'day-to-day' only to miss weeks at a time. In that sense, and given that Berube is unsure when Benoit will return to practice, there should be some level of concern around the severity of his injury.

It's unclear as to when the injury occurred, or what the nature of the issue is, but the fact that it's not believed to be serious should be of some consolation.

With Benoit out, the Leafs are giving top prospect Ben Danford an opportunity on the blueline on Tuesday night with the star-studded roster, as he was paired with Benoit's usual partner, Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Should the Leafs determine Benoit will be out for an extended period of time into the regular season, it opens the door for the likes of Henry Thrun, Marshall Rifai, William Villeneuve and/or the aforementioned Danford to step in a take his place temporarily.