TORONTO -- Auston Matthews skated prior to Toronto Maple Leafs practice on Saturday and did not rule out returning next week from an upper-body injury. The center, who has missed the past seven games, recently returned from a five-day trip to Germany for consultation on his injury.

Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies was placed on injured reserve Friday due to an upper-body injury, though coach Craig Berube said he is showing signs of improvement.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without captain Auston Matthews for the last seven games, as he’s dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup. The good news for the Leafs is that they’ve managed to go 6-1 without him thanks to the depth scoring from throughout the roster.

Auston Matthews came back from Germany with a spring in his step Saturday, but wasn’t too forthcoming about what exactly his upper body injury is. After five days seeing a specialist in Germany, at least some of the mystery about his day-to-day condition that has stretched into three weeks was explained.

The Toronto Maple Leafs might finally see their captain Auston Matthews return to the lineup after a lengthy upper-body injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without captain Auston Matthews for nearly the entire month of November thus far with the Leafs’ forward dealing with an injury that has reportedly been nagging him since training camp.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost forward Matthew Knies after he was hit by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud during Wednesday’s game at Scotiabank Arena. Earlier today, the Leafs announced that they’ve placed him on Injured Reserve,