Bowen Byram remains on injured reserve with no return date after Jeff Blashill said progress was definitely made in a specialist visit last week.

Bowen Byram remains on injured reserve with no return date, and he has not been cleared to play, even after Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said Monday that “progress was definitely made” when the defenseman spent time with a specialist last week.

After Monday’s practice, Blashill told reporters, “He spent time with the specialist last week, and I think progress was definitely made. I don’t want to get into it because I don’t know enough about it. What that means, we’ll see.” Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Byram skated non-contact before that session. Byram’s agent, Darren Ferris, declined comment to Pope.

https://twitter.com/BenPopeCST/status/2119868968395559173

That is the most the team has said on Byram in a week, and it still does not come with a timetable. Blashill was careful not to get ahead of the medical staff, which is fair, even if it leaves everyone waiting for a clearer answer.

Byram was back on the ice in a non-contact jersey Tuesday, skating on his own before practice for a second straight day, but he did not take part in the session, according to Pope and WGN Radio’s Charlie Roumeliotis. Skating on his own two days in a row is a step. It is not a return date, and the Blackhawks have not said he is close to being cleared.

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The specialist visit lines up with what Ferris had asked to make public. Elliotte Friedman said Monday on 32 Thoughts that Ferris reached out to him about requesting a specialist, and that Friedman understood Byram had now seen that specialist.

https://twitter.com/RinkyReport/status/2119853206461091949

Byram was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 3, retroactive to Oct. 15, with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He has not played since Chicago’s 5-3 win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 13. We’ve been tracking every twist in this situation in our Bowen Byram saga explainer.

General manager Kyle Davidson is scheduled to speak with reporters Wednesday at 1 p.m. CT. If he has anything new on Byram, we’ll update from there. The Blackhawks host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at the United Center.