The career of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been an unfortunate one with respect to injuries. Whenever McAvoy seems to be playing his best and getting back into form, he is hit with another setback.
The most recent one came in last Saturday night's rivalry game against the Montreal Canadiens, when he was hit with an errant slapshot, leading to facial surgery that will keep him out for an undetermined amount of time. However, there's some good news: he might not miss the Olympics for Team USA, according to ESPN's NHL Insider Emily Kaplan.
“Charlie McAvoy's timeline depends on healing from facial surgery, but expectation is he'll be OK for Olympics,” Kaplan reported. “Best case in what was a horrible scenario”.
McAvoy missed the final few months of the 2024-25 season when he suffered a shoulder injury while playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. In an emotionally charged moment, he read the team's starting lineup in the dressing room before their Championship Game against Team Canada. He ended up being consoled in tears by his teammates.
It would've been a disappointing scenario for McAvoy if he had to miss the Olympics as well after being robbed of the opportunity to play in that Championship Game last February. The Bruins are left hoping McAvoy returns soon, as they also battle for first place in a tight Atlantic Division, a surprising outcome in a season the team expected to struggle.
The timeline for Charlie McAvoy's return is still unknown, but the physical defenseman will hope to get back in time to regain game shape before the Olympic Tournament begins.
