Auston Matthews’ injury status remains a focal point for the Toronto Maple Leafs, after general manager Brad Treliving told reporters Tuesday that Toronto’s captain went to Germany to see a specialist to receive treatment for his upper-body ailment.

Matthews has missed Toronto’s last seven games with the injury, after initially being listed as day-to-day. Head coach Craig Berube appeared to indicate that Matthews could be back by the end of the month, without providing a finite timeline.

“He’s actually improving and in a really good spot,” Berube said via Nick Barden of The Hockey News. “We’re very happy with that.”

When asked about when Matthews could return to the ice, Berube kept it candid and simple:

“I still don’t know that. Maybe this weekend,” Berube said.

Toronto will resume its schedule Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club and while Treliving didn’t rule him out preemptively, it seems unlikely that Matthews will suit up for this game.

“Maybe, maybe not (against Utah),” Treliving said Tuesday of Matthews’ potential return. “We go to Florida after that, so that’s sort of where I feel more comfortable. Maybe Sunday, but probably after that on the road.”

“We haven’t been trying to be cryptic with all this stuff. We’ve been calling him day to day because that’s what he’s been. We’ve looked at the schedule here and what we are trying to do is use this week and hopefully get this thing behind him.”

Matthews has recorded five goals and 11 points in 13 games. Toronto has responded with a 6-1 record in his absence, as Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander have elevated their games, while the team’s defence and goaltending continue to excel through the opening two months of the campaign. When Matthews returns, it will provide a massive boost for a Maple Leafs team that has heavily relied on its top-six forwards to generate offense, with the team lacking true secondary scoring.

Toronto is down several forwards due to injury, including Matthews, Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf, while Ryan Reaves will serve his second game of a five-game sanction on Sunday. Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin stepped up admirably in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday and the Maple Leafs’ depth will continue to be tested during the first quarter of the year.