John Klingberg opens up about his injury, reveals that he may not play at all during Global Series in Sweden
The Toronto Maple Leafs will finally return to action this afternoon after having an extended break of close to a week to travel to Sweden to take part in the NHL's 2023 Global Series.
When Toronto plays today against the Detroit Red Wings, they will be doing so without defenseman John Klingberg, who has been out with a mysterious injury that he says he has had to deal with his entire career.
While his injury has kept him away from practice all week, Klingberg was on the ice for the team's morning skate. Following practice, he spoke about his mysterious injury, revealing that not only will he not play on Friday, but he may not play on Sunday either.
"It's the first time I've skated in a week or so I didn't feel very good out there," Klingberg said. "Very stiff. A little bit of pain and not a lot of motion. We'll get someone to work on it and see if I'm available for Sunday."
Klingberg has had an extensive injury history throughout his career with a pair of hip surgeries in 2015 that have been the most serious. The 31-year-old has gone through a series of aggressive treatments to correct the issue but he is still not feeling well enough to play.
"That's why it's a little bit different now, because we went a little bit harder on it and see how it would respond to it," Klingberg said. "It's still pretty fresh into this treatment so we'll see where it lands. Hopefully, I start feeling better soon.
"It's always been there throughout my career but I've been able to deal with it and work through it. But it kind of hit rock bottom here the last few weeks. It's something we're trying to figure out here."
Klingberg was signed to a one-year, $4.15 million contract this summer and started off the season really well with five points in his first six games. Since then, things have taken a turn, with Klingberg going pointless and -5 plus/minus in his latest stint.
POLL |
NOVEMBRE 17 | 249 ANSWERS John Klingberg opens up about his injury, reveals that he may not play at all during Global Series in Sweden How many games will John Klingberg play this season in total? |
40 or less | 172 | 69.1 % |
41-60 | 47 | 18.9 % |
61-70 | 14 | 5.6 % |
More than 70 | 16 | 6.4 % |
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