Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Sunday that Vasilevskiy is considered day-to-day, but didn’t specify when he would return to the ice ahead of preseason.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been noticeably absent throughout training camp. He practiced briefly on Thursday but hasn’t been seen on the ice since.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Sunday that Vasilevskiy is considered day-to-day, but didn’t specify when he would return.

“He’s been on a bit and then he’s been off. He’s wrestling with some things right now physically. It’s early. It’s early in training camp, so we don’t need to rush anything along with him. So when he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there.”

When asked if there was any concern that the injury could keep Vasilevskiy off the ice for an extended amount of time, Cooper said, “Not as of now, no.”

Back in May, Vasilevskiy explained in his exit interview that from games 30 to 35 in the regular season he didn’t feel that his mind and body were in sync and “small injuries came out at the same time.”

“It was something I’ve never experienced before,” Vasilevskiy said. “Probably the first 30-35 games, I felt as usual, but then, I don’t know just me and my body weren’t on the same page, I guess. All these small injuries came out at the same time.”

During Media Day on Wednesday, he said he took the full offseason to recover, focusing on getting a mental break from hockey by spending time with his family and going back home to visit his cat.

“I changed my program a little bit, not much but as I said, I’m paying attention to my recovery a lot more now.”

Vasilevskiy admitted that he wasn’t prioritizing his recovery much the last few years during their cup runs. This will be something new for him. 

He plans to stay at the arena longer after games to receive treatment and is making a commitment to listen to his body.

General manager Julien BriseBois said that managing a workload like Vasilevskiy’s is an “ongoing process.”

The Lightning are off on Monday, then open up preseason with four games, beginning with back-to-back road games Tuesday at Carolina and Wednesday at Nashville. They play two home games Friday against the Hurricanes and Saturday against the Predators. No word yet on when Vasilevskiy will return to the ice.