Washington Capitals star defenseman John Carlson took a slap shot to the head in a game on Dec. 23, and the 33-year-old was diagnosed with a skull fracture and a lacerated temporal artery shortly after. After three months of recovering from the terrifying injury, Carlson is on the verge of a return for a Capitals team whose playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

With the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets in town, Capitals fans are surely wondering: Is John Carlson playing tonight vs. the Blue Jackets?

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John Carlson injury status vs. Blue Jackets

Although Carlson is nearing a return to action for the Washington Capitals, he will not play on Tuesday night, according to The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir.

“John Carlson is close but will not play tonight vs. [Blue Jackets], per [head coach] Peter Laviolette,” El-Bashir wrote.

Carlson was back on the ice in a full-contact sweater over the weekend, but it looks like he hasn't quite been cleared for a return to game action just yet. He told El-Bashir that he is targeting as soon as Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks for a potential return.

“I just got struck by lightning,” Carlson said about the frightening injury. “That’s the only way to describe it…There’s always close calls…there’s always a lot of, ‘Oh man, that could have hurt or that could have been bad' times. This was bad. It’s a one-in-a-million thing — and it happened to me.”

The fact Carlson will almost certainly be back in game action this season is truly an incredible story of resilience; he genuinely wondered if he would ever play another NHL game after suffering the injury.

But all signs are pointing to the star blueliner returning to the lineup by the end of the week for the Washington Capitals. In the question of is John Carlson playing tonight vs. Blue Jackets, the answer is no, but it likely won't be for much longer.