Knies has been out of the lineup since Nov. 15 with a lower-body injury and says his injury has healed to a point he can make an impact.
COLUMBUS, Ohio. — Matthews Knies will make his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup when the club visits the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday.
Knies last played for the Leafs on Nov. 15 in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. The player missed the club's next practice for what the club described as maintenance and he took part in the club's morning skate ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues on Nov 18 before the club announced that Knies was out with a lower-body injury.
It didn't appear as though Knies would play following Tuesday's practice as he was slotted in a grey extras jersey along with fellow injured players Auston Matthews (lower-body) and Nic Roy (upper-body), but Knies confirmed his return on Wednesday and went into some detail about the issue that had been bothering him for a little while.
How do you feel knowing that it looks like you're going to get back into the lineup, what does that mean to you?
"Yeah, I feel great. I feel a lot better. I'm just excited to get back in the lineup. It's, you know, it sucks watching, you know, you just want to be out there and help the guys. So, you know, happy to do that today."
I was going to ask how trying has it been given that it's not just you, but it's so many others and you probably feel that pressure to kind of get back in and get going again?
"Yeah, I think every one of us, you know, that are, you know, out right now is going to get back and just help out. And yes, I'm glad that I can, you know, come in healthy and make an impact and hopefully, you know, help us win."
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What happened, I guess, the lead up to the game that we thought you might be playing in and then you got shut down. Like, what was the process like for you?
"Yeah, I think, you know, it was kind of bugging me in the morning and I just came and to see if it was possible if I warm it up and try to get it going to see if I could play. But I think it was just getting worse. It just kind of bothered me for a long time. Yeah, it just kept getting worse, so I just thought, you know, it's probably not the best to keep playing on it. Yeah, I wasn't able to. But fortunately now, you know, I got healthy, and we have an amazing crew here that, you know, took good care of me. Yeah, so I'm happy to be back."
At that point, when was the realization that it might be more than just a few days? Like when you tried, but then like maybe I'm going to have to sit for a little while.
"Yeah, I think that was kind of the day, you know. That morning skate, it obviously didn't feel right. So from then on, you know, I just kind of noticed that it would be best to kind of just stay off the ice. You know, it's one of those that, you know, it irritates you the more you skate. So just needed a few days and then, yeah, just took good care of it. And, yeah, I'm back now. So it's all good."
How long had you been dealing with it? When did it pop up?
"Probably over a month, to be honest. Yeah, it was a while, but, you know, it just was getting worse, worse and worse, to the point where obviously I couldn't play. So I just had to take care of it and take some time."
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Is it something you have to manage moving forward, or did the time off kind of put it away?
"The time off did a good job. You know, I think I can manage it well, but I'm sure I don't have to worry about it since I took this time to kind of heal it up and get it back to, you know, where it needs to be to play and to make an impact on the ice. So, yeah, I'm just going to take good care of it and, yeah, move forward."
What's your sense of the group right now?
"Yeah, I think we're trying to climb ourselves out of it. I think this road trip could be a good spark for that. You know, I think if we have a good road trip, I think we could be put in a really good spot. And, yeah, so I think we're just trying to focus on each game and get back in this."
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