Auston Matthews' Fate Likely Confirmed for Game vs the Panthers After Recent Update

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without Auston Matthews since Nov. 3 with the Leafs captain dealing with an upper body injury. It's been a whirlwind of speculation as fans wondered how severe the injury was.

After returning from a trip to Germany, Matthews was confident that his issues were behind him, and he was focused on going forward. He was a low potential to play Wednesday but was presumed to return on Saturday against Tampa Bay.

Well, Matthews was back on the ice with the team on Tuesday, a great sign he may return on Wednesday, as Craig Berube eluded to.

It's unknown where Matthews will line up and there is no confirmation for him to play Wednesday however this is a massive step forward toward his return.

It's been a slow start so far for the Leafs captain, with only five goals and 11 points before landing on the IR.

It means that Toronto will finally get their captain back after three weeks of him being on the shelf.

What started as day-to-day injury turned into a 7-game absence and while Toronto has done extremely well without him, he's still a huge impact player for the team.

Matthews' return means that they are a bit closer to having their players back to full health, and if the captain comes back, the others will follow. Toronto is still without Matthew Knies, Max Domi, and David Kampf among others.

Toronto will need as many reinforcements as possible, as they have a tough two-game Florida road trip coming up. Trying to solidify their spot atop the Atlantic, these next two games are crucial to set the tone going into December.

But the question also remains where does Matthews line up? Surely Toronto will want to ease him back but they don't want him off the top line, and with Mitch Marner's play; it's a tough decision to make.

Fans can just breathe a little bit easier now that Matthews is back on the ice, and all Leafs Nation can hope for is that his injury troubles are far in the past.

In closing, Auston Matthews' return to practice is a massive step forward toward an in-game return, and both his teammates and fans are going to breathe a huge sigh of relief once he's back and healthy, which could be as early as Wednesday.