Therrien: Galchenyuk could return as early as next week

The countdown is on.

A day after the Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Alex Galchenyuk would return to practice on Friday, head coach Michelle Therrien insisted that the 22-year-old could return to the lineup as early as next week, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Galchenyuk - who has been out of the lineup since Dec. 4 with a knee injury - was expected to miss upwards of two months with the ailment, but now looks to be on the road to a speedy recovery.

Therrien insisted that he wouldn't be making his return to the lineup on Saturday, when the club visits the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with four games on tap for next week, Galchenyuk will have plenty of opportunity to get back into action.

Meanwhile defenseman Andrei Markov - who has been sidelined since Dec. 17 with a lower-body injury - is also getting close to returning, but like Galchenyuk will not play versus the Maple Leafs.