New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil hasn’t played a National Hockey League game since Nov. 2 — but the 24-year-old is getting closer.
Chytil returned to North America on Monday, flying from Europe to New York after “making progress training at home in Czechia while recovering from a head injury,” according to ESPN.
The former Hartford Wolf Pack forward returned to his home country in late December to take care of his mental health and continue rehabbing from the ailment. He has appeared in just 10 games for the Rangers this season.
Chytil’s brother Libor shared an Instagram post earlier this week detailing the progress that Filip has made in his recovery.
Filip Chytil training hard at home
“Fil returned to Czech republic to continue in rehab process. I can say that we have made good progress in last few weeks. For me personally, it was the biggest challenge in my career as a [strength and conditioning] coach,” Libor Chytil explained on the social media site.
“We used many tools off-ice. Aerobic work, proprioception drills, frontal lobe and cerebellum drills, vestibular system drills, visual drills, strengthening small muscles before we got back to strength and power training. … Really great cooperation with this guy who is one of the best skills coaches in Czech republic. We’ve done a lot of work together and I believe that Fil will be back soon and stronger than before. Special thanks to New York Rangers staff for their trust in the process.”
Although there is no timetable for Filip Chytil’s return to the New York Rangers’ lineup, he could resume practicing once the team returns from its three-game California road trip.
New York is currently travelling through Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim. The Rangers lost 2-1 to the Kings on Saturday, followed it up with a 5-2 victory over the Ducks on Sunday, and will end the trip at the SAP Center against the Sharks on Tuesday night.
After that, three of the Blueshirts next four games will be at Madison Square Garden. The hope in NY is that Filip Chytil will be healthy enough to rejoin the lineup before the end of February.
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