On Friday morning, the Washington Capitals announced that they had recalled defenseman Christian Djoos back to Washington from his conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

Djoos has not appeared in a Caps game since December 11 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Djoos suffered a thigh injury against the Red Wings that later needed emergency surgery due to compartment syndrome. Djoos has been skating since mid-January and began practicing with the team on January 22, prior to his conditioning assignment.

In two games with Hershey Sunday and Wednesday, Djoos had four shots and two PIMs.

With the return of Djoos to Washington, general manager Brian MacLellan and head coach Todd Reirden will have some decisions to make. To make room for Djoos, the Capitals must remove one player from the team’s active roster before the Swedish defenseman next plays.

That roster move could come before Saturday’s game against the Panthers if the Caps decide to give Djoos a jersey.

Caps announce they've recalled Christian Djoos from Hershey after his conditioning stint. Team doesn't have to make another roster move until he's activated off LTIR, which probably won't happen until he plays. Reirden said that could be tomorrow vs. Florida.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 8, 2019

Possible candidates to be put on waivers include Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, and Jonas Siegenthaler. Siegenthaler is the only player of this bunch who is waivers exempt, though the team had him get an apartment during the bye week, signaling he was in Washington to stay.

More from the Caps:

The Washington Capitals announced today that defenseman Christian Djoos has been recalled from his long-term injury conditioning assignment with the Hershey Bears. The announcement was made by Washington senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan.

Djoos, 24, appeared in two games for Hershey during his assignment, registering two penalty minutes. He has skated in 28 games with the Capitals this season, posting four assists. He has not played with Washington since sustaining an injury on Dec. 11. Djoos had 14 points in 63 games last year with the Capitals, and also appeared in 22 playoff games, helping the Capitals to a Stanley Cup title.

The native of Gothenburg, Sweden played two seasons with the Bears from 2015-17, including a 58-point campaign in 2016-17 in which Djoos finished third in the AHL in scoring among defenders. That year he won the club’s Dan Sernoffsky Most Improved Player Award and the Milton Garland Memorial Award for Best Defenseman. In total, Djoos has scored 81 points (21 goals, 60 assists) in 131 AHL games with Hershey.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong