Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen insists goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky didn't come back too soon before suffering yet another groin injury last week.
"It's tough to put this in words, because I've been assured that there was no way he came back too early either time," Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch.
Bobrovsky missed nearly six weeks after sustaining his original groin injury on Dec. 8. He had a setback just after Christmas, then returned for two games last week before being ruled out indefinitely and placed on injured reserve again Friday.
"He was fully healed, with full strength, full range of motion ... everything was back to normal," Kekalainen said. "In everybody's mind who has worked with him, he was not coming back too early at all."
Both of Bobrovsky's most recent injuries have been less significant than the original ailment, and Kekalainen said the latest one won't force his goalie to miss the rest of the season.
"I don't see any reason why that would be the case. This is not a … if you have a major tear, you're out six-to-eight weeks. This is not a major tear," Kekalainen said. "But obviously now that there's been a little tear twice now, after his bigger one, we're going to make sure."
The Blue Jackets' franchise netminder has missed 44 games due to groin injuries since the start of the 2013-14 season, and he's been limited to 27 contests in 2015-16, going 11-13-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .911 save percentage.
