The Arizona Coyotes lost star forward Clayton Keller to a leg injury in late March last season. On Friday, Keller provided a very encouraging update on the injury.
The 24-year-old forward told reporters on Friday that he feels healthy. Furthermore, his expectation is to play in the Coyotes' season opener on October 13.
“We'll see. That's the goal right now,” Keller told reporters on Friday. “I think the most important thing is I'll be ready for Game 1.”
The injury occurred in a game against the San Jose Sharks. In the third period, Keller fell awkwardly into the boards, which fractured his leg. The Coyotes star shared positive vibes after the incident.
“It was just a fluke accident,” Keller said of the injury. “I lost an edge and kind of fell into the boards, and normally you can control yourself, but I was going so fast and I caught an edge, so I couldn't slide in sideways or anything. So it kind of just happened. I knew something was off when I couldn't move my leg when I was down.”
Prior to the injury, the Coyotes forward enjoyed a career year. He scored a career-high 28 goals and fell two points shy of tying his career-high points mark last year. Keller missed the final 15 games of the season.
“It was definitely a little disappointing,” the Coyotes star said. “I was on track to have my best season ever, but I was just more motivated to get back healthy and do even better this year.”
The 24-year-old mentioned that he likely wouldn't play in the preseason. However, he remained confident in his ability to suit up when the games start to matter.
“I think it will be good,” the Coyotes star said. “That's been everything I've been working for this entire summer is to get back for that game, and I'll be ready for it and treat it like any other game and have fun.”
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