Ivan Demidov's agent reveals surprising details about Canadiens injury

Ivan Demidov might be out for a little bit longer. He has been out since the second game of the season with a lower-body injury, but little else has been said.

The Canadiens initially expected him to miss two to four weeks, but it looks like it will be longer. He is now in the fourth week of that recovery timeline, and Demidov can still be seen wearing a walking boot. He has yet to return to practice, but he was seen skating alone away from the team. The Canadiens have yet to give an updated timeline on when fans could see him return to the lineup, but Demidov’s agent, Daniel Milstein, gave some clarity on what is going on.

Demidov injured before the season

While the Canadiens have not given any information about Demidov’s injury, Milstein went on DFO Insider with Jeff Marek & David Pagnotta and gave fans an update.

“Ivan Demidov is getting ready. Probably a few more weeks or so, we’ll see him back in the lineup. Unfortunately, he had a fractured ankle in the preseason. It was bothering him but he continued playing for the two games,” Milstein said when asked for a health update by Marek.

What Milstein revealed was quite shocking, considering the Canadiens never mentioned that Demidov was dealing with a fractured ankle. Milstein later said that Demidov felt some discomfort after the Canadiens’ opening game of the season and played through the second before getting an MRI.

The revelation helps explain why Demidov's recovery has taken longer than initially expected. The only problem was that, less than a week ago, Eric Engels reported that the Canadiens said Demidov was still “on his timeline,” which could suggest that the team had a different timeline for his return internally. The Canadiens could simply be taking extra precautions to avoid aggravating the injury, but, surprisingly, Demidov's agent provided such a significant update before the team.

When will Demidov return?

We now have a better idea of when Demidov could return, but an exact date remains unclear. Milstein suggests he is still a couple of weeks away from playing, but is that two, three, or more? For when exactly Demidov could return to action, RDS’s Patrick Friolet gave a breakdown of what has to happen before he plays again.

“The plan is for him to skate solo this week, respecting each step of his recovery. If all goes well, he could train with the team next week,” tweeted Friolet. With that information, it sounds like it could be at least two weeks before Demidov could make his return.

Recovery from an injury is rarely linear. There could be lingering discomfort or, worse, he could suffer a setback. From all the reports, it sounds like the Canadiens and Demidov’s team are being cautious with the injury so that when he returns, he is back playing at 100%. That just might be a couple more weeks away.