Matthew Tkachuk‘s much-anticipated season debut will have to wait a little longer.
Tkachuk practised Sunday for the first time this season and more than four months after he had surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.
The Panthers’ star hasn’t played since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, when the Panthers clinched their second title in a row by again topping the Edmonton Oilers. He went through the summer trying to rehab — but eventually decided that he needed the surgery, knowing it would cost him the first few months of the season.
After the Panthers won their second straight Cup, Tkachuk revealed that he had sustained the injuries while playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He missed the final 25 games of the regular season but returned for Game 1 of the Panthers’ first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tkachuk said previously he wanted to play in the Winter Classic, which will be played at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins.
But with over half the season remaining, as well as Tkachuk already named to Team USA for the Winter Olympics, the Panthers are playing it safe with his return.
Tkachuk’s next chance to make his season debut will be on Sunday against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche.
The Panthers sit one point out of a playoff spot despite playing the entire season without Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov.
— With files from Associated Press