Auston Matthews Out Against Sweden With Upper-Body Ailment and Leafs Nation is Concerned

As the U.S. took to the ice for warm-ups against Sweden on Monday night, the absence of their captain was a shock to almost everyone.

The U.S. has already punched their ticket to the 4 Nations Face-Off final and will play Canada, so the game against Sweden essentially means nothing. However, Matthews was expected to play tonight as Team USA was already resting Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Matthews is dealing with "upper-body soreness" and is expected to play on Thursday.

Others are reporting the injury is "nothing serious", but that hasn't stopped fans from holding their breath and showing their concern for Matthews, who has struggled with his health this season.

After missing nearly three weeks in November with an undisclosed injury, Matthews returned for a handful of games before re-injuring it against the Buffalo Sabres December 21st.

The injury kept the Maple Leafs and Team USA captain sidelined until January 4th against the Boston Bruins.

Matthews publicly admitted his injury could be long-term ahead of his return in January and it has seemingly made another appearance just as many had predicted it would.

Despite his injury troubles this season, the 27-year-old has still produced more than a point-per-game with 20 goals and 45 points in 40 games.