Laraque discharged from hospital after recovering from COVID-19

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Georges Laraque is back home after recovering from the coronavirus.

The former NHL enforcer was discharged from hospital Monday after checking in last week following his diagnosis.

"I was really struggling, but just the fact that since (Sunday) I didn't need extra oxygen to breathe, it was really encouraging because you know, gasping for air is one of the worst feelings when you can't breathe," Laraque told TSN's John Lu following his discharge.

Laraque, who suffers from asthma, thinks he contracted the virus while picking up groceries for seniors in the Montreal area.

"Elderly people don't want to go out of the house to get groceries, so I volunteered for them and I did that for them because it was advised for them to stay at home," he said. "So I just took their list of groceries and went to a couple different grocery stores to pick up stuff for them. And when I did that, you know how contagious this thing is, you could be picking up a product, touch your face after and that's it."

He added: "So it just shows you that you could pretty much get it anywhere and you just have to be really careful."

The 43-year-old revealed his condition Thursday, posting a photo of himself in a hospital bed with a caption reading, "I guess I'm not invincible, just got diagnosed with COVID, since I'm asthmatic, not the best news, will fight it off!"

Laraque said shortly thereafter that he couldn't even get up to brush his teeth without struggling and called it "the worst thing ever."

The former forward spent 12 seasons in the NHL, including eight with the Edmonton Oilers. He retired in 2010.