"Got very serious, very quick" - Charlie McAvoy opens up on his 'scary' infection that forced him to miss 4 Nations title game

Charlie McAvoy has been out since the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Boston Bruins star did not play in the final, which resulted in a loss for his country, and has been off the ice since with an infection. It's unclear if he'll play again this year.

The Bruins have just nine games to go. He returned to practice on Sunday but is still not in game shape. He might not be before the Bruins' season ends, as they're most likely missing the playoffs.

On Wednesday, via the Athletic, the NHL star opened up on his scary injury:

“The infection was moving pretty fast after that. It got very serious, very quick. Another thing I’m trying to leave in the past, really. It was scary. It was scary on me. Scary on my family, mostly.”

Despite the physical ailments, being back on the ice with his teammates, even though a couple were traded away at the deadline, seemed to make him feel a little better:

“I think it’s a lift on both fronts. I’m just happy to be here. I’m happy to be with the guys, to see guys, to be seen. I wish a lot of things would have been different coming down the stretch here. I really do. It hasn’t been the easiest."

McAvoy believes this is the beginning of the end of this saga, and he's hopeful that he can put the incident behind him and move forward as a healthy, productive hockey player.

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Charlie McAvoy discusses his fight to return to health

Charlie McAvoy has so far played a career-low 50 games. He may not have the chance to improve that number before the season ends in a few weeks. He is trying, though.

Charlie McAvoy is trying to get healthy (Imagn)

He said he's trying to get healthy and admitted that it's difficult to "not be in the fight" via The Athletic:

“It’s tough to lead from the sidelines when you’re not within the group and you’re not there. Moving forward, probably our most important objective is how we’re going to get it back, what we’re going to do and how we’re going to leave it better than the way we found it."

The defenseman said he and David Pastrnak have some work to do to get the Bruins back, and that they know better than most what being a Bruin means:

"We know what it looks like and what it feels like to be part of the teams that are winning teams, the special teams. It’s right there. We’ve just got to get it back.”

The regular season ends on Apr. 15.