When will Ryan O'Reilly return to action? Latest update on the Toronto Maple Leafs forward

The Toronto Maple Leafs have suffered a sizable blow as newly acquired star forward Ryan O'Reilly is set to miss at least four weeks following finger surgery. Following the procedure, O'Reilly was placed on long-term injured reserve, meaning he will miss a minimum of 24 days and 10 games.

The injury occurred during Saturday's matchup with the Vancouver Canucks, when the veteran was inadvertently hit in the hand from a shot by Auston Matthews. Not only did the team lose Ryan O'Reilly on Saturday, but they also dropped the game 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks.

"Ryan O’Reilly has a broken finger and will be going on LTIR, Sheldon Keefe announced Monday." - Sportsnet

The loss of Ryan O'Reilly is a blow to the Maple Leafs lineup. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said that the veteran is expected to be back prior to the beginning of the playoffs.

"Obviously when we get him, you get excited and you know what he can bring, so to lose him certainly it's tough and disappointing," Keefe said.

"But we acquired him to be healthy ready to go for the playoffs and you know, that will be the case. So, to that end, it's not bad in terms of what the bigger picture is, and especially with the nature of the injury, he won't miss much time actually on the ice and skating and, and all of that."

If the 32-year-old returns after a minimum of 24 days and 10 games, he could be first eligible to return on April 6 against the first-place Boston Bruins. While the team may ease him back into the lineup, his addition to the lineup against the Bruins may be crucial for Toronto's playoff seeding.

"I love how I talked myself into thinking a Ryan O'Reilly broken finger isn't THAT bad, and then the Leafs hit you with a John Tavares injury to fuck up your Monday." - BrianBeLeafs

A look at the trade that sent Ryan O'Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs

In what turned out to be a busy trade deadline for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the acquisition of O'Reilly was arguably their most high-profile deal.

O'Reilly and Noel Acciari were acquired from the St. Louis Blues. In exchange, they sent forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick.

Aside from the trade mentioned above, the Toronto Maple Leafs also acquired Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn, and Erik Gustafsson before the trade deadline passed.