Toronto Maple Leafs place veteran centre John Tavares on injured reserve

am800-sports-john-tavares-getty-1.9194102 MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates the puck in a shootout against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) (John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates the puck in a shootout against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images))

Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares is set to miss some time.

The club announced Thursday the veteran centre has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body issue.

Tavares went down awkwardly during a drill at practice Wednesday.

The 34-year-old has 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points across 44 games this season.

The club is no stranger to key injuries up front in 2024-25. Leafs captain Auston Matthews sat out a combined 15 games earlier in the schedule with an upper-body injury.

Toronto recalled forward Fraser Minten from the American Hockey League in a corresponding move Thursday. The 20-year-old has two goals and two assists in 15 career NHL games.