Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares has sustained an oblique injury, the team announced Thursday. Per the club, Tavares suffered the injury while preparing for the world championships with Team Canada. He will travel back to Toronto to be evaluated. John Tavares left Team Canada practice earlier today with an injury 130 Likes, 1 Comments – Sportsnet (@sportsnet) on Instagram: “John Tavares left Team Canada practice earlier today with an injury “ Hockey Canada also released a statement on Tavares and the joint decision to have him sit out the tournament. “We are disappointed that John will not be able to participate as a member of Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, but after contacting the Toronto Maple Leafs we agreed it was best for him to return home for further evaluation,” Jason Botterill, a member of the management group for Canada’s National Men’s Team, said in the release. “We know John was excited about the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf once again, and we were excited to have John as a member of our team and to welcome his many years of NHL and international experience.” Tavares was named to Team Canada last month after the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Boston Bruins. The 28-year-old set new career-highs in goals (47) and points (88) in 2018-19 — his first with the Toronto after signing with the club in free agency in July. Tavares last competed at the worlds in 2012 after also representing Canada at the tournament in 2010 and 2011. Though he has never won gold at the tournament, his international resume includes back-to-back world junior golds in 2008 and 2009 and a gold medal at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Olympic Games, but suffered season-ending knee injury during the quarter-final. The 2019 IIHF World Championships begin May 10 in Slovakia.<doc-sep>Associated Press TORONTO – Maple Leafs center John Tavares injured his side while practicing with the Canadian team and will miss the upcoming world championships in Slovakia. Hockey Canada said Thursday it contacted the Maple Leafs and it was agreed it was best for him to return to Toronto for further evaluation of his oblique. Such injuries usually require at least a few weeks of recovery. It wasn’t immediately clear how the 28-year-old star was hurt. The news on Tavares came shortly before the Maple Leafs said defenseman Travis Dermott will have shoulder surgery and miss at least six months. He won’t be available until mid-November at the earliest. Dermott had four goals and 13 assists in 64 games this season, plus a goal and two assists in seven playoff games. Tavares was one of the few stars on Canada’s roster. He had a career-high 47 goals with 41 assists in 82 games during the regular season. He added two goals and three assists in the playoffs. Tavares has played on three previous world championship teams. He was on Canada’s championship team at the 2014 Olympics, where he injured his left knee and missed the rest of that NHL season. Canada opens world championship play against Finland on Friday.<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Tavares will return to Toronto for further evaluation by the Leafs’ medical staff. Claus Andersen/Getty Images Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares suffered an oblique injury while practising with the Canadian team ahead of the world hockey championship and will miss the tournament, Hockey Canada said Thursday. The Maple Leafs said Tavares will return to Toronto for further evaluation by the team’s medical staff. “We are disappointed that John will not be able to participate as a member of Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, but after contacting the Toronto Maple Leafs we agreed it was best for him to return home for further evaluation,” Jason Botterill, a member of Canada’s management group, said in a statement. “We know John was excited about the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf once again, and we were excited to have John as a member of our team and to welcome his many years of NHL and international experience.” Story continues below advertisement It wasn’t immediately clear how the 28-year-old centre suffered the injury. Oblique injuries usually require at least a few weeks of recovery. Canada opens play at the 16-day world championship tournament against Finland on Friday in Kosice, Slovakia. The news on Tavares came shortly before the Leafs announced that defenceman Travis Dermott needs shoulder surgery and will miss at least six months. Tavares was one of the few stars on Canada’s roster. He had a career-high 47 goals with 41 assists in 82 games with the Maple Leafs in the regular season, and added two goals and three assists in seven playoff games. The 28-year-old Tavares has represented Canada at three previous world championships (2010, 2011 and 2012). He was also part of Canada’s championship team at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where he suffered a left-knee injury in a game against Latvia and missed the remainder of the 2013-14 NHL season. Dermott to have shoulder surgery, will be out at least six months The Maple Leafs say Travis Dermott will undergo shoulder surgery on Friday and is expected to be out of action for a minimum of six months. Story continues below advertisement The prognosis means the defenceman will miss training camp and the beginning of the 2019-20 season and won’t be available until the second week of November at the earliest. The 22-year-old Dermott had four goals and 13 assists in 64 games for the Maple Leafs this past season. He originally injured his shoulder during Toronto’s 6-2 win over Edmonton on Feb. 27 when he was checked into the boards by Oilers forward Brad Malone. He missed 14 games, then returned for Toronto’s last five regular-season games and its playoff series with the Boston Bruins.<doc-sep>Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares sustained an oblique injury in practice with Team Canada ahead of the World Hockey Championship and will return to Toronto for further evaluation. Leafs centre John Tavares sustained an oblique injury in preparation for the World Championships. Tavares will return to Toronto for further evaluation by the Leafs medical staff and a further update will follow in the coming days. — Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) May 9, 2019 The Maple Leafs said a further update on the star centre will follow in the coming days. Team Canada general manager Jason Botterill said Tavares suffered his injury while training in Slovakia, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. Tavares skated Thursday but didn't feel right so the decision was made with the Maple Leafs to send him back to Canada. “We are disappointed that John will not be able to participate as a member of Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, but after contacting the Toronto Maple Leafs we agreed it was best for him to return home for further evaluation,” Botterill said. “We know John was excited about the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf once again, and we were excited to have John as a member of our team and to welcome his many years of NHL and international experience.” Tyler Bertuzzi replaced Tavares on the top line alongside Sean Couturier and Sam Reinhart after Tavares left early.<doc-sep>
John Tavares will not play for Canada in the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The Toronto Maple Leafs center left Team Canada's practice on Thursday with an upper body injury. It was later confirmed by the Maple Leafs that Tavares had suffered an oblique injury, with the 28-year-old set to head back to Toronto for further evaluation by the NHL team's medical staff. Leafs centre John Tavares sustained an oblique injury in preparation for the World Championships. Tavares will return to Toronto for further evaluation by the Leafs medical staff and a further update will follow in the coming days. — Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) May 9, 2019 The injury means Tavares will miss the tournament. He had been skating on Canada's top line at practice, between Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights. “We are disappointed that John will not be able to participate as a member of Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, but after contacting the Toronto Maple Leafs we agreed it was best for him to return home for further evaluation,” Jason Botterill, a member of Canada's management group, said in a statement. “We know John was excited about the opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf once again, and we were excited to have John as a member of our team and to welcome his many years of NHL and international experience.” Tavares had only joined Team Canada's camp on Monday, after making an agreement to delay his arrival. Ultimately, his time with the team lasted less than a week. Canada's first game of the World Championship is Friday against Finland.