The first look at Auston Matthews since knee surgery arrived right on schedule

Auston Matthews made a public appearance looking pretty healthy as he was seen golfing with former teammate and good friend Joe Thornton.

Matthews has been out since mid-March after he tore his knee preceding a Radko Gudas hit and the team gave him roughly 12 weeks as a recovery timeline. He seems to be following that timeline pretty well considering he was seen golfing with Joe Thornton and it's a great sign that he's progressing towards being fully healthy.

It's going to be a huge focal point this season with regard to Matthews' health. A knee injury is serious for anyone let alone a hockey player who uses a lot of lower body strength, so we're all wondering just exactly how he's going to bounce back.

Toronto needs him to, and it sounds like he isn't too concerned about things with the team right now and is more than happy to see things through, though he's also reportedly going to give the team a bit of a short leash should they get off to a slow start.

Matthews seen golfing with Joe Thornton and friends at Torrey Pines - a great indicator of his recovery progress

So it's a very welcoming sign that not only do we have an update on Matthews, but it seems to be a pretty good indicator of his health:

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Matthews was seen golfing with a few friends including Joe Thornton, but as you can see he is wearing a protective sleeve on his leg. The welcoming sign though is that not only can he put weight on it by standing, but looked to have actively been golfing, so there is clearly mobility and flexibility getting worked on too.

It looks like the captain has been enjoying his summer thus far, as other Instagram posts show him doing various activities, but it paints a bigger picture going forward. Now a compression sleeve is still protective equipment and it doesn't mean Matthews is 100%, but it is a promising sign that his timeline turned out to be pretty accurate.

The 12-week recovery window is over and now the focus turns to how his knee holds up this season

The hard part is over, and now the harder part begins. Matthews looks to be healthy and following exactly the schedule we were told. He had surgery on March 19, and with it being June 13 that's 86 days - or 12 weeks and two days.

So now comes the rehabilitation when it comes to on-ice activities. He has to start skating eventually, and he needs to make sure that he can make those quick-twitch and sudden movements without risking re-injuring himself.

But a lot of that recovery and progress is going to play into how he feels this year. If he's not at 100% then that could affect how Gavin McKenna plays in his first year considering they are expected to line up together.

Then you have his philosophy of 'I'm thinking of leaving if we start slow', so if he's part of the problem of that slow start, then he has to take a step back and realize that this is a brand new team with a new coach; these things take a bit to mesh.

Though he seems gung-ho on giving the team a chance, and there's a real shot that his recovery continues to go smoothly. He's back skating soon and we can certainly get a better idea of whether or not we should be concerned.

Right now though, Matthews is enjoying his time off but he's also giving us a glimpse into his recovery and all seems to be going well for the captain.

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