Senators’ Brady Tkachuk aiming for return “hopefully around Thanksgiving”
The Ottawa Senators may be close to seeing their captain return to the ice.
On his new podcast Wingmen, Sens winger Brady Tkachuk mentioned that he’s nearing a return, and after a checkup on the injury in the coming days, could be aiming for a return around American Thanksgiving.
“I’ve got a doctor’s appointment in the next couple of days and I’m excited to hear what he has to say for me,” Tkachuk said on Wingmen. “Hopefully, everything is all clear to go out there to battle and compete.
“Hopefully around Thanksgiving we’re back and we’re ready to rock.”
That timeline is still just over a week before a return, which should leave Tkachuk with plenty of time to be cleared from the injury, as well as get back to regular practice and get readjusted to game speed. He was on the ice for practice in a non-contact jersey on Wednesday.
Based on the timeline Tkachuk mentioned, that will still mean he misses at least the next three or four games for the Senators, and will likely return either on the Friday of that weekend against the St. Louis Blues or the Sunday against the Dallas Stars. It’s also possible that he returns sooner and plays on the Wednesday before the weekend against the Vegas Golden Knights.
His brother, Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, has also missed the entire season so far after undergoing abductor surgery in the summer, and is nearing a return, although there isn’t as clear of a target date for a return as Brady’s.
“I feel like, and it’s the same with you [Matthew], we’re just itching to get back,” Tkachuk said. “We both just want to be playing again. That’s what we’re meant to be doing. That’s just our calling — we’re at our best when we’re in the fight and in the battle with our teammates. It’s so hard when you’re watching from afar and not being a part of it, wishing you had an impact. But the fact that we’re almost on single-digit days of being back, we’re both super, super, super, excited.”
Tkachuk has missed a majority of the season thus far with a thumb injury, one he sustained in the third game of the Senators’ season due to a cross-check from Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi. The injury required surgery, which is what Tkachuk has spent the last month rehabbing.
Tkachuk had three assists in three games to start the season before the injury. He had 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 72 games last season, as well as four goals and three assists in six games in his playoff debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs.