Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner is progressing, but will still miss the next two games as he recovers from a high-ankle sprain, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe on Friday.
Marner suffered the lower-body injury on March 7 against the Boston Bruins and has been sidelined since. Keefe told reporters that the 26-year-old has skated the past few days.
"The plan is for him to take tomorrow off and then get back to it," Keefe said. The Maple Leafs are 3-2 since his absence.
The Maple Leafs may be down another forward ahead of Saturday's tilt against the Edmonton Oilers as Tyler Bertuzzi is listed as questionable.
After playing through illness in what turned out to be a breakthrough game on the Maple Leafs' rejigged top line, Bertuzzi was absent for Friday's practice. Keefe told reporters that the team would re-evaluate the 29-year-old's status on Saturday.
Bertuzzi has appeared in 67 games for the Maple Leafs, in which he's scored 15 goals and 34 points.
Defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin remains sidelined with an illness and will not play against the Oilers. This will be the third consecutive game missed for the trade deadline acquisition, though he did take to the ice in practice for the first time in six days.
Watch the Maple Leafs take on the Oilers on Hockey Night in Canada, with coverage starting Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. PT.
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