Leafs' Rielly, Ceci on track to return next week

Reinforcements are on the way.

Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci are on track to return at some point next week, head coach Sheldon Keefe told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

The Maple Leafs also believe rookie forward Ilya Mikheyev will return this season, though his timeline is a bit longer than those of Rielly and Ceci, Johnston added.

Injuries have decimated Toronto's blue line in 2019-20. With Jake Muzzin also sidelined, the Leafs are currently playing without half of their regular top six defensemen.

Rielly, who finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting after last season, totaled 27 points in 46 games before going down with a fractured foot. He was given a timeline of at least two months on Jan. 13. The 25-year-old admitted he had been playing through an undisclosed ailment before suffering the foot injury.

Ceci hasn't played since sustaining an ankle injury on Feb. 5 against the New York Rangers. He's recorded eight points across 54 games in his first season in Toronto.

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