NHL Injury Update: Shea Weber Could Return For Canadiens vs. Hurricanes

Shea Weber could make his season debut for the Montreal Canadiens when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday after recovering from knee and foot injuries that ended his season early last year.

The Canadiens defenseman suffered a season-ending injury to his left foot in December last year and had to undergo surgery in March. That was followed by a knee injury, which required arthroscopy procedure to repair a torn meniscus.

Weber was not expected to return until December but has made a quicker than expected recovery after beginning to skate Oct. 11. The Canadiens take on the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night and coach Claude Julien revealed the defenseman could return next week.

"I think the way things are going right now, if everything continues to go in the right direction, I think the medical staff and everybody feels that Tuesday could be a possibility for Shea to come back," coach Julien said after practice in Buffalo Thursday, as per NHL.com.

"But definitely not on the weekend. This is his first week with some contact and after being out for a year; he needs to spend that whole week doing certain things. So that's the direction we're going, and again, that's as long as things keep going in the right direction, which so far it has been."

Weber, who joined the Canadiens in 2016 after spending his entire hockey career with the Nashville Predators, was appointed captain of the team in October this year. He had 16 points — six goals and 10 assists — last season and is second on the list of active NHL defenseman for goals with 189, which is just behind leader Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins.

Coach Julien also revealed the other players in the squad are looking forward to welcoming their captain back into the team. And revealed his long-term absence has made a difference.

"There's no doubt guys are kind of getting excited to see his presence getting closer and closer, and as I said, if everything goes well they'll see him soon," the Canadiens coach added. "He's the captain of this hockey club. He's the leader on and off the ice, and whenever you miss a guy like that it does make a difference.

"He's not going to be our savior, but he's certainly going to be a big answer to some of the things we're trying to solve right now. So we're looking forward to getting him but we've still got a few games left before that even becomes a possibility."

The Canadiens are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conferences Atlantic Division and have crucial matches at the weekend when they face the two teams — the Sabres and Bruins — immediately above them on the table on Friday and Saturday respectively.