Bobby McMann sustained a lower-body injury but it appears as though he's on the mend and could make his way back sooner rather than later. Bobby McMann hopes he can return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. The forward has missed seven games after suffering a lower-body injury against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 27. Although it's unclear when McMann picked up the injury in the game, he says it occurred during a skating stride. "I just overstretched on a stride and just felt it through my groin. I think I just overexerted on something." McMann has suffered several injuries throughout his career at the NHL level. The most significant being a lower-body injury which forced him to miss the entirety of the first round against the Boston Bruins in May. The 28-year-old also missed the 2023 postseason after suffering a knee injury in March of that year. "Initially, there's always that frustration and then you're hoping that it's not anything too drastic," said McMann of the reaction to his latest injury. "You're waiting for the pain to go away a little bit and then kind of reassess stuff. Always a bit of frustration, but it wasn't too bad." The Maple Leafs have gone 5-2 since McMann exited the lineup with what he called a groin injury. Although Toronto has been strong throughout his absence, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube says he'll be happy to have the power forward back in the lineup. "Another power forward in our lineup on our left side. If you look at our left side with (Matthew) Knies, (Max) Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, I love the size and the power-forward type player. Up and down the wings, banging bodies going to the net." Having not played a game in just over two weeks, McMann is eager to return to the lineup. He admitted on Friday that it's difficult to balance wanting to return as quickly as possible versus taking the proper time to heal from the injury. "You want to get back right away, but that's the hardest thing to balance with injury is trying to come back at the right time where you're not going to re-injure it. And I think that's the point where you can feel confident, you can push it," he said. "Maybe you still have a little bit of pain or maybe you're not feeling a hundred percent, but it's at the point where you're not going to re-injure it and then hurt the team anymore. Because if you're out again, then you're just hurting the team again. So, um, just when you're feeling better." The power forward has six goals and one assist through 21 games with the Maple Leafs this season. The last time he scored was during a two-goal game against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 16. McMann's been on the ice a fair bit since that game against Florida at the end of November where he suffered the injury. He believes that will help ease him back into Toronto's lineup as early as Saturday. "I feel like I haven't been out a ton of time and I've definitely been skating a good amount. Like I didn't miss a lot of time off the ice," said McMann. "The game speed is always something that takes a bit of an adjustment, but not being out that long, I don't think it'll be too hard, and I just trust it. I'll rely on what works well for me."
