Latest News on Auston Matthews Should Have Leafs Nation Breathing a Whole Lot Easier

Earlier this week, when the Maple Leafs placed Matthews on injured reserve, retroactive to December 20th, there was some concern over whether or not he had suffered some sort of an additional setback.

Thankfully, the Leafs confirmed shortly thereafter that Matthews' placement on IR was a paper transaction to allow the team to recall another player ahead of their game against the Islanders on Tuesday.

With Matthews eligible to come off of IR at anytime, the Leafs have opted to bring him on the trip to Long Island. Matthews was back on the ice on Thursday, though it's already confirmed that he won't play against the Isles tonight.

Earlier this morning, NHL Insider Chris Johnston made an appearance on TSN 1050's "First Up" to discuss a wide range of topics -- Matthews' health among them. He provided us all with a very important detail about Matthews' injury during the appearance.

While Johnston could offer no confirmation on whether or not it's a back issue, he did reveal that even with the injury being a particularly stubborn one, it's not one that is serious enough to require any surgical intervention.

Matthews has now missed two lengthy stretches of hockey in November and December. With the absence also bleeding into January, there are obviously concerns that Matthews will be dealing with the issue for the rest of the year.

If surgery was an option, it's likely that a procedure would have been done already. It's more likely that Matthews and the Leafs are being completely honest when they say that this is something that will simply need to be managed and that maybe it's not as bad as it seems on the surface.