Major update on Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews' injury

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Chris Gerics
September 25, 2024 (12:14)

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There has been a major update on news regarding the injury status of Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews after he left practice yesterday.

Auston Matthews left practice yesterday after an upper body injury and after some speculation about the severity of the injury and now thanks to an update from Leafs Latest on X, we have an update and it doesn't look great.

The Toronto Maple Leafs captain remains out for practice along with Calle Jarnkrok who is suffering from a lower body ailment. The injury bug has bitten the Maple Leafs recently with PTO Steven Lorentz being injured, as well as Ben Danford's concussion, Fraser Minten's injury; not to mention Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar who are both rehabbing injuries and are due for a conditioning stint before they head back to the team.

Head coach Craig Berube was mum on the situation however did not seem overly concerned, according to The Sun's Lance Hornby on X:

It would be a huge blow to the Maple Leafs to be without their captain and leader and if it's serious enough to put the beginning of the season in jeopardy then things could turn from bad to very bad, very quickly. It could be that Matthews was pushing himself too hard, or something just didn't feel right but all Maple Leafs fans, players and coaches can hope is that it's nothing to be concerned with and he'll be back like nothing happened.

Matthews last season had a historic campaign where he scored 69 goals; the most since Mario Lemieux in 1995-1996 and cemented himself as the premier goal scorer in the NHL. His run with the Maple Leafs since being drafted 1st overall in 2016 has been legendary, though not as successful as one would of hoped for. He has an astounding 368 goals and 281 assists in 562 games including two 60-goal seasons in the past three years; there's no question he is the catalyst for the Maple Leafs and him being off the ice for any period of time is incredibly detrimental to the success of Toronto as a whole. They are incomplete without their captain and while William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares are wonderful players; there is no one like Matthews.

The Toronto Maple Leafs need not only their best roster available come opening night but it certainly needs their captain and the greatest goal scorer in the National Hockey League; if they don't have that luxury it could be dreadful for everyone involved.