The Maple Leafs had hoped rehab would be enough to get the forward back from injury but in the end surgery will keep Robertson out for six months.
Nick Robertson’s luck continues to get worse.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that the 21-year-old forward had season-ending shoulder injury and that he will be out for six months.
Robertson was injured on Dec. 8 when he took a hard hit from Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy.
Two days later, Sheldon Keefe announced that the forward was electing to go through rehabilitation instead of going the surgery route. An initial timeline of six-to-eight weeks was expected without surgery.
“It’s not one of those things where you absolutely have to have surgery,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Robertson. “He’s going to rehab it and give it every opportunity to heal appropriately and take it from there, but it’s just one of those things that they’ll continue to assess it as he moves along.”
Last week, Keefe was asked about Robertson's injury but he had not had an update on the California native.
The 21-year-old’s latest ailment is another setback in the player’s short professional hockey career beset by injuries.
While with the Toronto Marlies last season, Robertson sustained a non-displaced fracture in his fibula and missed 10 weeks.
During the 2021 season, the forward suffered a knee injury in his regular-season NHL debut.
“It sucks even more because he’s been through this before and has had some bad luck with this,” Keefe said on Dec. 10. “As a young player, it’s tough to get traction, but because he has been through it before and each time he’s come out a little bit better, that should give him confidence and belief that he’s got reasons to continue to work and push through and as a result gives us that same confidence.”
Robertson had two goals and three assists in 15 games this season.