Sheldon Keefe discloses the latest on Mitch Marner

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without the services of forward Mitch Marner since their March 7 matchup against the Boston Bruins; he suffered a high ankle sprain and has been unable to play since then. 

And unfortunately, the only updates on his health have been of the negative variety. In fact, head coach Sheldon Keefe recently revealed that Marner hasn't been responding to the treatment of his ankle as the franchise has hoped. 

But the latest update from Keefe contained a bit of positive news, as he said that there is progress being made.

"He is progressing," Keefe said of Marner. "He skated the last few days. That is progress for sure. The plan is for him to take tomorrow off again and get back to it."

Keefe also explained that Marner is skating, but he won't be available to play in the team's weekend games against the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes. 

"He is skating," Keefe said. "He was out there for a good bit before practice. He is making progress, but he is not available this weekend."

Marner is not the only Leafs player to suffer a high ankle sprain this season, as defenseman Timothy Liljegren went down with the same ailment after being tripped by Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand earlier in the schedule. 

Marner is one of Toronto's leading scorers with 25 goals and 51 assists in the 62 games that he's been able to appear in this season. With the playoff chase still in full swing, the Leafs will want Marner back as soon as possible in order to maximize the best playoff position possible. 

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