04-24-2004, 10:28 AM
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#9 (permalink)
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Enforcer
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Trumbull, CT
Posts: 574
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From TSN.ca
Quote:
4/24/2004 According to a report in The Globe and Mail, Maple Leafs' captain Mats Sundin could be out of the Toronto lineup longer than expected and likely won't be able to play in the team's Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sundin has not played since injuring his left leg in the fourth game of the Leafs opening round series against the Ottawa Senators.
The team has never released a timetable for Sundin's return, but there were suggestions that he might return in time to face the Flyers - perhaps as early as Game Two. On Friday, head coach Pat Quinn dismissed such talk.
"We always held it out as a possibility, but one that's quite remote," he told The Globe and Mail. "That is misleading the public."
Sources told The Globe and Mail that Sundin's injury is worse than feared. Initially thought to be a torn quadriceps muscle, the injury reportedly extends from Sundin's abdomen through his groin and into his quadriceps.
Sundin has been skating, but still appears to have trouble pushing off with any power. Sources told The Globe and Mail that surgery is unlikely, but Sundin's rehab stint would likely last until the end of the Flyers' series at the earliest.
At this point, winger Owen Nolan appears closer to a return to action. He was injured on March 27 and could return against Philadelphia with the help of a knee brace. Sources told The Globe and Mail that Nolan tore two ligaments in his knee and will need surgery in the offseason. His post-surgery re-hab could last six months or more.
Getting Sundin or Nolan back would be a big boost to the Leafs, who were man-handled in Game One by the Flyers. Philadelphia leads the series 1-0.
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