Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson is expected to miss the start of the 2022-23 season after undergoing knee surgery.

Per Capitals PR, Wilson tore the ACL in his left knee during Game One against the Florida Panthers on May 3. Wilson underwent surgery to have it reconstructed and his recovery will take six to eight months

The ACL ligament runs in the middle of the knee and prevents the shin bone from sliding out in front of the thigh bone per Mount Sinai.

#Caps forward Tom Wilson, who was injured on May 3 in Game 1 against Florida, underwent a successful surgical procedure on his left knee to reconstruct his torn ACL. Based on the nature of this procedure, Wilson is expected to miss 6-8 months.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) May 25, 2022

With this recovery timeline, Wilson will miss nearly two months of the 2022-23 season, at the very least, and his return could fall anywhere from late November to the end of January.

“It was kind of a weird, freak thing,” Wilson said on Capitals’ Breakdown Day. “I went into (a) hit and tweaked my knee. Everything you heard was honest. I was doing everything I could to get back. Just one of those things that I wasn’t able to. Bit of a bummer but it is what it is. It kind of sucked that it happened at this time (of year). I was pretty good all season (with injuries).”

Wilson confirmed that despite his knee issue, he was trying to return in the series. When the Capitals were facing elimination after their 5-3 Game Five loss, Wilson got off the team flight back from Florida and went to MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Wilson skated hard to test out his knee but ultimately did not feel he could return.

“It was one of those things where I was trying to be the unique situation where the odd person can kind of [come back from it],” Wilson said. “Get a brace and get out there and there’s a chance. I was trying everything I could. I just wasn’t able to do it.”

Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said Wilson would not have returned.

“He was not going to come back (in the playoffs),” MacLellan said. “They’re having exit medicals here. They’ll make a decision in the next day or two on what we’re doing. [Surgery] is on the table.”

Wilson registered career highs in goals (24), assists (28), points (52), and power-play points (10) during the 2021-22 season and made his first All-Star Game appearance.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB