Leafs' captain Auston Matthews finally breaks silence on prolonged injury absence, addresses estimated return timeline

Auston Matthews was ruled out again this morning for the Maple Leafs' game on Thursday against the New York Islanders. It will mark the sixth consecutive game he's been sidelined, and the 15th game he's missed in total during the 2024-25 season.

The 27-year-old participated in Monday's practice, leading to speculation that a return to Toronto's lineup could soon be in the cards.

The Maple Leafs superstar spoke for the first time since re-aggravating his upper-body injury on Dec. 20 in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Here is what Matthews had to say in his media availability on Wednesday.

"It's been good progress throughout this week, I think it's always a good gauge getting a practice and the competitive aspects of things and stuff like that, so, been a lot of positive signs... hopefully you just keep progressing and see where we’re at maybe later this week."

He was asked if he had a return date in mind.

"No," Auston Matthews quickly replied.

He then spoke on whether rest will help him move past the injury that's been nagging him all season. Leafslatest provided his response on X.

"Yeah, I don’t know. I hope so—that’s obviously the goal. It’s tricky with these things sometimes… things happen out there that are out of your control," Matthews added.

Auston Matthews' next opportunity to return to action will come on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night against the rival Boston Bruins.

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Auston Matthews' hopes for his fourth Maurice Richard Trophy are slipping away

Known as one of the best goalscorers in the game, Auston Matthews is always the heavy favorite to lead the league in goals. The three-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner (2024, 2022, 2021) was coming off an amazing 69-goal 2023-24 campaign that captivated the hockey world.

After such a season, expectations are extremely high, which has made his slow start and time on the shelf disappointing. Matthews has just 11 goals (23 points) in 24 games. Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl leads the NHL with 27 tallies, a wide margin for Matthews to close, especially when his return to action is unknown.

The Maple Leafs will be in New York to finish off their season series against the Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday night. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST.