The Toronto Maple Leafs have provided an important update on injured forward Dakota Joshua followed by his hospitalization.
Coming out of their weekend back-to-back, the Leafs were hit with a handful of injuries to Chris Tanev, Auston Matthews and Dakota Joshua, adding to their growing injury list that already included Brandon Carlo, William Nylander, Anthony Stolarz and Dakota Mermis.
While Matthews is set to return to the lineup on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jete, the rest remain sidelined.
Dakota Joshua’s injury particularly concerning
An optional skate on Wednesday allowed Leafs head coach Craig Berube to provide updates on a number of players, including Joshua. The bench boss revealed that Tanev would miss time with a groin injury, and also revealed the extent of Joshua’s injury.
Joshua suffered damage to his kidneys, according to Berube, which appeared to have happened after he went for a hit along the Leafs’ bench in Sunday’s game against the Red Wings.
The collision led to internal bleeding and forced Joshua to remain in Detroit for a few days for observation in a local hospital. However, on Wednesday, Berube revealed that Joshua was spending the day with his mom, before making the trip back to Toronto.
No Timetable For Joshua’s Return
Joshua, along with Tanev, was placed on injured reserve with Berube noting that the former St. Louis Blues forward would miss significant time as he recovers from the injury.
Joshua’s stint on injured reserve comes at a time when he was really starting to find their game under Berube. Hopefully the former Leafs draft pick will be able to pick up where he left off upon his return.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily