Charlie McAvoy details recovery from infection that sidelined him for last two weeks

Charlie McAvoy said it best at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday.

“2018 was definitely not my year.”

Through one calendar cycle, the 21-year-old defenseman missed a combined 45 games due to a number of maladies — including an abnormal heart rhythm that necessitated surgery, a sprained MCL, and a concussion.

Given his recent luck, it should come as no surprise that his latest ailment came off of something as mundane as a blocked shot. Despite suffering a cut on his foot during that matchup against Montreal on Dec. 17 (a game in which McAvoy dominated), McAvoy remained in the lineup for the following three games. However, problems quickly started to arise.



“It actually exploded the skin inside the skate,” McAvoy said of his injury. “Got stitches in there. Played through it to Christmas. Just trying to make it work until then and then we were excited for those three days (off for Christmas) to really just let it heal.

“Unfortunately, on the 24th, 25th, I started to notice signs of infection. Came back to Boston, had to get on top of it right away with antibiotics. ... Unfortunately had to cut my time short with my family, but it was good to get on top of it, because I really didn’t know much about it.”

Recovering from the infection has stunted McAvoy’s recovery timeline as of late, with the defenseman set to miss his seventh straight matchup on Thursday against Washington. It was a similar injury that David Backes suffered last year when a skate blade sliced into his leg — causing him to miss five games.

“It’s frustrating, because I don’t know how much he’s divulged, but it’s something that you think is very minor, especially in the scope of hockey injuries,” Backes said of McAvoy. “But the risk involved trying to play through it, keeps you on the sideline longer than you’d like it to. Just the waiting game for the doctors to say, ‘Go for it.’ Once you get the go-ahead, you’re chomping at the bit and you get to jump right in full speed. Hopefully, he’ll be back in game action sooner rather later.”

While he won’t play on Thursday, McAvoy might be good to go for Saturday’s crucial road matchup against the Maple Leafs, with young blueliner joining the team for practice Wednesday without a red, non-contact sweater. Barring any setbacks with his injury, McAvoy doesn’t expect any other surprises, as his antibiotics treatment ran its course earlier this week.

“He was a full go today,” Bruce Cassidy said of McAvoy. “Progressing well. Tomorrow morning, we’ll find out if there’s any setbacks. If not, then Saturday becomes a reality. We’ll see if he’s in. He’s not going to play tomorrow, but that becomes a target date. We’ll see how it works out.”

Despite a rough outing against Carolina in his last game on Dec. 23 (minus-4), McAvoy said that he’s not dwelling on that showing when he finally gets the green light to return to game action.

“We were using numbing shots,” McAvoy said of the team’s treatment of his injury before the infection set in. “It was pretty painful. But there was no doubt that I was playing. Things were going well, we were on a win streak and I personally felt like I was playing well. I think it was just a combination of things. The back-to-back (games), a little bit of fatigue, some pain. But that one’s long behind me now.”

Since McAvoy’s absence, Boston has gone on a run — with the B’s winning five games in a row and sitting just two points behind Toronto for second place in the Atlantic Division. Adding a difference maker like McAvoy to the back end can only help the B’s if he’s cleared to play against the Leafs this weekend.

“I want to play. It’s a bonus how good everyone is playing,” McAvoy said. “This team is starting to pick up some heat. Everyone is playing for each other right now and it’s been fun to watch. There’s an element of sadness — you miss the guys. It’s kind of unfortunate to be out. But at the same time, they’re playing really well. That’s so exciting, because no matter how many games I miss, the ultimate goal when I get back is to join a team that’s playing really well and be in a playoff position, and these guys are definitely taking care of that right now.”

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McAvoy also gave his thoughts on his tardiness issues earlier this season — a story that gained steam over the last week after Brad Marchand joked that he was going to get McAvoy a clock or a watch for Christmas due to his occasional late arrivals.

McAvoy downplayed the story, in which he was a late to a bus and one players-led, special-teams meeting, but added that it was a good learning experience, nonetheless.

“There was definitely a learning opportunity,” he said. “I’m trying to be very receptive of that and I think I am. It really wasn’t a big thing that was going on. I think everyone kind of figured that out after. People were surprised to hear about such a thing. But we had a conversation amongst the young guys and the veterans.

“Like I said before, we’re very fortunate to have them. I get to walk into a locker room every day with guys like (Zdeno Chara) and (Patrice Bergeron) and Marchy. Just real, consummate pros. I think guys, who I idolize and want to be just like. So if I can learn their habits and learn things like that at a young age, I’ll be so much better for it.”