The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman opened the season on long-term injured reserve after undergoing hernia surgery.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will get some reinforcements on defense this week.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that the Swede is set to be activated from long-term injured reserve on Friday and will be in the lineup when the team hosts the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"The plan is to get him right in," Keefe confirmed ahead of the team's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Maple Leafs have a shortage of defensemen who play on the right side. The team shuffled their defense pairs ahead of Wednesday's game, with TJ Brodie moving from the right side to the left to stabilize Justin Holl, another right-handed shot who has struggled this season.
Victor Mete is slated to skate with Morgan Rielly on one of the defense pairs on Wednesday. Mete, a left-handed shot, has played on the right side of every game he's played with the Leafs thus far.
The right-handed Liljegren signed a two-year, $2.8 million extension with the club in June. He missed all of training camp after it was discovered that he needed hernia surgery.
The 23-year-old enjoyed his first full year in the NHL last season. He had five goals and 23 points in 61 games last season. He found stability on the right side of veteran defenseman Mark Giordano last season.