New York Islanders forward Kyle Okposo is set return to his team’s lineup Tuesday when they host state rival New York Rangers.
Okposo has missed the last seven weeks recovering from surgery that repaired a detached retina in his left eye.
In 46 games this season, the 26-year-old St. Paul, Minn., native has 14 goals, 30 assists and was on a hot streak with seven points in the three games prior to his extended time off.
Okposo hasn’t played since a Jan. 19 contest against the Philadelphia Flyers and at one point thought he might lose vision in his eye permanently.
“It was really scary. I had some blurry vision after the Philly game. I was driving home to my daughter’s [first] birthday party and I knew something was wrong,” Okposo told Newsday Monday. “That whole night, it didn’t get better. So I went in, saw the retina specialist right away and he said, ‘You have a detached retina and we need to do surgery right away.’ It was pretty scary and there wasn’t a guarantee I was going to see again. You definitely stop and pause after you hear that.”
Despite missing one of their best offensive weapons, the Islanders continued to have success. They charged back to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime Monday on the road and currently sit tops in the Metropolitan Division with a 43-21-4 record.
