More Details Emerge Regarding Auston Matthews Upper-Body Injury

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Chris Gerics
November 5, 2024 (2:00 PM)

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More details have emerged regarding the severity of Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews after he was reported as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

It was a huge blow to the Maple Leafs ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, as they are going to be without their captain Auston Matthews as he was diagnosed with an upper-body injury and will be day-to-day.

While the extent of the injury was unknown, it was a worrying development for Maple Leafs fans as the team tries to salvage their hot and cold start to the year.

We now have some more news regarding the status of Auston Matthews thanks to Luke Fox of Sportsnet:

Fox reports that per head coach Craig Berube, the injury has nothing to do with the previous wrist injury that kept him out for a brief period in 2021.

It's a big positive towards the injury being something minor and nothing that Matthews can't shake off with some rest and recovery. Toronto will need him to shake it off quick too if they can't find their footing after their first 13 games.

Matthews has been off to a slower start this season, with only five goals through those 13 games, however, he has been asked to play a much more defensive role this season which in turn is going to lead to less scoring opportunities as his job isn't always to score. He is still toward the top of the team in points, and his absence will be sorely missed.

Toronto's bottom-half needs to pick things up in place of Matthews' absence and Max Domi needs to start to prove that he belongs and isn't just a streaky player.

He's earned top-line minutes and needs to have a solid offensive AND defensive game to impress his head coach and perhaps earn more minutes. It's the responsibility of the entire team to pick up any slack whether it's injuries or slumps, and this will be their biggest test of the season.

Auston Matthews' injury doesn't seem like it's one that should be too concerning. However, if the team can't respond in the wake of his injury (much like Edmonton has done without Connor McDavid): That is a concern that needs immediate attention.