The Montreal Canadiens have received some good news as All-Star defenceman Andrei Markov began skating on his own this week.
According to a report on RDS.ca, if all goes well with his recovery, the Russian blueliner could be back in the Habs lineup by the New Year.
Markov has not been on the ice since opening night when he suffered torn tendons in his ankle after a collision with Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. It was originally thought that he could be sidelined until February, however if these reports prove to be true, Markov will have missed just over three months.
The 30-year old Markov hit the ice for the first time since suffering the injury on Tuesday then again Thursday morning. He admitted that the boredom of inactivity was the hardest thing to deal with.
"The first 10 days I did nothing and it was tough, I had a lot of pain in my ankle," Markov admitted to reporters Thursday. "After that it was boring, it's still boring right now, but I'm happy to step on the ice and I'm going to do my best to come back as soon as I can."