Sonny Milano made another small step in his recovery from an upper-body injury.
Wednesday, after doing individual work with Capitals skills coach Kenny McCudden, Milano stayed on the ice for the start of the Capitals’ morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Milano, wearing a light blue non-contact jersey, left for the locker room shortly after practice began. But his participation in the session marked the first time he’s joined all his teammates on the ice for a practice since getting injured.
The Capitals play the Vancouver Canucks at Capital One Arena later Wednesday night.
Milano has been out since suffering an upper-body injury on November 6 against the Nashville Predators. The Capitals initially labeled Milano out week-to-week before putting him on long-term injured reserve November 20.
Head coach Spencer Carbery didn’t have an update after Wednesday’s skate, but in early December, when Milano first began skating again, the Capitals head coach suggested the 28-year-old winger was not close to returning.
“A long way to go for him to get back into the lineup,” Carbery said on December 2, “but good to see him at least out on the ice.”
Milano has missed the Capitals’ last 28 games due to injury, further compounding a difficult start to the season. After struggling in training camp, the 28-year-old winger only played in three of the team’s first 12 games.
Since Milano has already missed more than 10 games and 24 days, he is eligible to come off of LTIR as soon as he is healthy enough to play again.