Matthews Absence Deepens Concerns for Toronto as Injury Continues

Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, **[Auston Matthews](https://www.example.com/tags/24926-oston-mettjus/)**, practiced on the ice this Saturday but will miss his fifth consecutive game due to a lower-body injury. The forward won’t be participating in the away game against the Montreal Canadiens, scheduled for the night of November 23.

It’s worth noting that Matthews sustained his injury during a regular-season NHL matchup against the Boston Bruins (3-5) following a hit by Nikita Zadorov.

“It’s worse than we initially thought. Honestly, I don’t even have a rough timeline for his return,” said Toronto’s head coach Craig Berube, as reported by the NHL website.

So far this season, the 28-year-old forward has played in 17 games, recording 14 points (9 goals and 5 assists) and a plus-minus rating of +9.