Injured Brandon Carlo on verge of returning to Maple Leafs lineup

With Chris Tanev back in the lineup, the Maple Leafs will soon welcome another veteran defenceman to active duty.

Missing since Nov. 13 and undergoing foot surgery on Dec. 3, Brandon Carlo was at Saturday morning’s skate after his rehab and not looking tentative at all.

“Good to see, he’s coming along pretty well,” head coach Craig Berube said. “He’ll be skating (regularly) now and hopefully, there’s no setbacks. We’ll get him going.”

Berube stopped short of saying Carlo could play in the next couple of games, including New Jersey following this weekend back-to-back against Ottawa and Detroit.

“I wouldn’t jump there yet. We have to see where he is going forward and he hasn’t been in any real practice with the team.”

For now, Berube has been able to get Tanev and Jake McCabe back together and he’s trying Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Troy Stecher as well as Morgan Rielly with a stay-at-home presence of Philippe Myers, keeping Simon Benoit in reserve again after Tuesday’s victory.

With Tanev returning in that game, it leaves one other long-term injury to a veteran, goaltender Anthony Stolarz. There was a gym sighting of Stolarz on Saturday, but the mystery upper body injury he sustained Nov. 11 in Boston has kept his future cloudy.

“Indefinite right now,” Berube said of his status.

Ekman-Larsson was glad to see the blueline band getting back together.

“Good for Brandon and everybody knows (Tanev) is a big part of this room and this organization, putting his body on the line. It’s the time of the year where you do that even more.

“In the position we’ve put ourselves in (five points out of a wildcard playoff spot before Saturday’s games), getting him back is huge for us.”

Lhornby@postmedia.com

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