Brad Treliving revealed Tuesday that Auston Matthews went to Germany to receive treatment for his mysterious injury, but the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager isn't concerned by the superstar's trek overseas.
"We haven't been trying to be cryptic with all this stuff," Treliving said Tuesday, according to TSN. "We've been calling him day-to-day because that's what he's been. ... He and our (team doctor) went over to Germany to see a doc that he's used in the past, more as a general checkup but also to get some work done on his thing. It's not alarming."
He added that Matthews' trip was possible in part because of the Maple Leafs' light schedule: Toronto last played Saturday, and its next two games are Wednesday and Sunday.
Matthews has missed the past six contests with an upper-body injury but has been labeled day-to-day since the start of his absence.
Treliving wouldn't budge when asked for specifics surrounding the sniper's ailment, though he noted that Matthews has continued his regular off-ice work.
"I'm protective of our players," he said. "We want to share as much as we can, but anything that may put the player at jeopardy, I'm not going to do that. There's not surgery. There's not any speculation like that. I think we're in a good spot here where we're getting beyond it."
There's a possibility Matthews could come back Sunday against Utah, but Treliving said he's "more comfortable" with targeting a return during the Maple Leafs' Florida road trip, which kicks off Nov. 27.
Toronto head coach Craig Berube stressed Friday that there have been "no setbacks" in Matthews' recovery.
The Leafs center initially suffered the injury during training camp. He's had a slow start to the season with five goals and 11 points in 13 games. Toronto has gone 5-1 in his absence.
The Maple Leafs put forward David Kampf on injured reserve retroactive to Saturday and recalled Fraser Minten from the AHL on Tuesday.
