Auston Matthews ready to return for Maple Leafs after 6-game injury absence

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews says he is ready to return.

Matthews confirmed the news at the morning skate ahead of Toronto's home game against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.

The star centre missed the last six games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He last played Dec. 20 and was placed on injured reserve last Tuesday.

The Leafs posted a 3-3-0 record in his absence.

Matthews, who also missed nine games in November, was flanked by Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner at the morning skate.

The Leafs star, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season after scoring a franchise-record 69 goals, has 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games this season.

The first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has 672 points (379-293) in 586 career regular-season games.