Nylander had been dealing with a groin injury and returned just three games before the Olympic break.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander's status for Team Sweden's first game at the 2026 Winter Olympics is in question.
The 29-year-old missed Sweden's final practice due to maintenance, the team's head coach, Sam Hallam, told reporters on Tuesday in Milan, Italy. This comes one day before their opening game of the tournament against the hosts, Italy.
Nylander had just returned from a groin injury with the Maple Leafs, which forced him to miss seven consecutive games (from Jan. 15 to Jan. 31). He played three games before the Olympic break, racking up one goal and three assists in that span.
Sweden's men's hockey team arrived together in Milan on Sunday. Nylander skated that day in an optional practice and was on the ice again on Monday with Sweden in a closed skate.
Hallam continued after Tuesday's practice, telling reporters that Nylander felt sore after Monday's closed skate.
"It a maintenance thing. He’s done two full practices with us and felt after yesterday a bit sore so just give him an extra day," he said, via TSN's Mark Masters. "We’ll see for tomorrow if he’s ready to go or it’s going to be a pretty late decision."
Maple Leafs teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson spoke to reporters after Sweden's practice on Tuesday afternoon. The veteran defenseman took on a lighter tone when discussing Nylander's status for their opening game.
"I don't want to get into it too much," he said, via Masters, "but I think he's fine."
Ekman-Larsson also revealed to reporters that he and Nylander are rooming together in the athletes' village.
"(Nylander's) sleeping a lot so it's nice and quiet," he said. "Hopefully I don't keep him up ay night with my snoring. It's been good."
Ekman-Larsson is participating in his first Olympic Games with Sweden since 2014 in Sochi, Russia. The 34-year-old has been one of Toronto's most important defenders this season, registering eight goals and 34 points in 57 games.
After Sweden's game against Italy on Wednesday (which gets underway at 3:10 p.m. ET), they'll face Finland on Friday (at 6:10 a.m. ET) and Slovakia on Saturday (at 6:10 a.m. ET) before the knockout round begins.