Bruins’ Zdeno Chara: No Updated Timeline On Return From Knee Injury

BOSTON — Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara said Tuesday that while he feels “all right,” there’s no updated timetable for his return to game action.

The initial expectation was that he’d miss four to six weeks.

“There’s not a timeline right now,” Chara said. “I wish I could tell you guys exactly when I’m going to return, but at this point it’s such a slow process. Who knows when the date is going to be?”

Chara has been able to do “upper body” workouts during his recovery, and he was seen stick-handling off the ice at TD Garden on Tuesday morning. The Bruins captain spoke to the media Tuesday for the first time since suffering a PCL tear in his left knee against the New York Islanders on Oct. 23.

It didn’t appear that Chara was hurt after he collided knees with Islanders captain John Tavares. He left the game shortly after that hit and didn’t return for the start of the second period.

“No, nothing,” Chara said when asked if he knew there was a problem right after the Tavares collision. “The shift after I felt some discomfort, but no pain or anything like that. I went into the locker room to check on things. Obviously, I found out there was more to it.”

Right now, Chara is forced to watch the team from high above the ice in the press box with the other injured players and healthy scratches. Not being able to play is difficult, but it’s also an opportunity to make observations from a different viewpoint than ice level.

“You always can learn, playing and watching,” Chara said. “It’s always a much easier game from up top. But I don’t think any time there’s a point where you should think, ‘I know everything.'”

Photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images