Auston Matthews' Latest Comments on Injury Raise Major Concerns for the Rest of the Season

The saga of Auston Matthews' injury is one that Toronto Maple Leafs fans are slowly getting more and more concerned about. Returning once before, he re-injured himself and didn't look the superstar that people expect.

Even though he showed some progress, all that was erased as Toronto has no definitive timeline for Matthews to return, and now the captain has broken his silence on if he's past his injury and it doesn't sound too positive:

It's one thing for a coach or a general manager to be unsure about if a player is over an injury or not, but for the player himself to question his own body is a major cause for concern.

With Matthews' confidence earlier in the season now a far and distant memory, it's tough to see a future where Toronto can maintain this level of success without their captain. He seemed to feel like he was over things a month ago but now he's lost for answers.

If Matthews can't get healthy and there's question marks around Anthony Stolarz' absence as well, two of Toronto's key players are down for the count in some of the most crucial games of the season.

He most certainly shouldn't risk playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and with already a quarter of the season missed, there is no reason for Toronto to rush him back.

One could interpret Matthews' words as being coy and not trying to delve too much into the media's insatiable need for a story, but the fact he answered so sheepishly and not even a simple "I'm fine, it's nothing I can't get over" is worrying.

With only 11 goals and 12 assists this season, he's on pace for the worst season of his career, and his absence will no doubt factor into how comfortable Toronto's playoff spot is going to be come May.