FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said he is still undecided whether to get surgery this offseason to address the significant injuries he suffered in the the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year.
Tkachuk told ESPN in a story posted Friday that while he’s hoping to return to the ice soon after playing the Stanley Cup playoffs with a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia injury, he could miss a couple months if he has surgery.
“If I do get the surgery, it’ll definitely be the first two or maybe three months if that’s the case,” Tkachuk told the sports network. “But it’s still undecided at this point.”
After the Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup in June, Tkachuk revealed that he had sustained the injuries while playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He missed the final 25 games of the NHL regular season but returned for Game 1 of the Panthers’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“He was a mess,” coach Paul Maurice said in June, adding the team wasn’t even sure if Tkachuk would make it through the first round because of the injuries.
Tkachuk had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 23 playoffs games, including seven points in the final round against Edmonton.
Tkachuk said after the season that he was 50/50 on if he would have surgery.
“I don’t know if it’ll be a normal summer or not,” he said in June. “I hope so. … I have a few weeks here where I can figure it out.”
The Panthers begin the regular season at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct 7.