Red Wings' Mantha suffered punctured lung in Muzzin incident

Anthony Mantha is nearing a return to the lineup, but it turns out that his ailments were worse than they initially appeared.

In addition to hurting his ribs, the Detroit Red Wings forward revealed Wednesday that he suffered a second significant injury when Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin slammed him to the ice Dec. 21.

"I had a punctured lung," he told reporters, including the Detroit Free Press' Helene St. James. "That's what took the six weeks to heal. We didn't want to risk that. Then obviously the ribs, it's a matter of time before it heals. And then the head was just preventative."

To make matters worse, Mantha also came down with an illness shortly thereafter.

"With the force of impact, my ribs punctured my lungs," he added. "It was probably the worst pain I've been in. And on top of all that, I got the flu on Day 2 of being injured. I had (a) 103 (degree) fever. So it was just a terrible first week."

Mantha passed a final concussion test Tuesday morning.

"I don't think I had a concussion, but we just wanted to make sure," he said.

The 25-year-old has missed 17 games since the incident but said he hopes to return between Feb. 10 and 15. The Red Wings will be on the road in Buffalo (Feb. 11), New Jersey (Feb. 13), and Boston (Feb. 15) during that span.

Mantha poured in 12 goals and 24 points across 29 games before getting hurt and still leads the club in points per game this season.