Holmgren said Leighton could return Thursday "at the earliest" for practice. Leighton was forced to leave Friday night's exhibition contest in Toronto because of a flare-up of what Holmgren called a previous injury. Leighton is 1-0 with a 3.64 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage in 99 minutes of preseason work.
"Michael has a lower-back strain, getting a little better," Holmgren said. "But we're going to hold him off the ice, the earliest would be Thursday. We're going to see if we can get this settled down."
On Friday, Holmgren told the Daily News that Leighton strained his back working out this summer. Yesterday, Holmgren said he was not sure if the two were related. Leighton was not available for comment.
"He did have a little bit of an issue this summer," Holmgren said. "We didn't think anything of it at the time. Whether they're related or not, I don't know. We're not real concerned about this. We'll give him a few days. By Thursday, he should be ready to practice."
The Flyers open the regular season in Pittsburgh, a week from Thursday.
Holmgren said Leighton complained that he didn't "have any push off his one leg," which is what nagged Ray Emery last season in what ultimately turned out to be a career-threatening hip injury. Emery, by the way, is not with any team and is still rehabbing. No one has suggested an injury of that magnitude with Leighton, but there is clearly something more to it than something 6 days of rest could cure.
"I don't think he believes this is anything serious, either," Holmgren said. "Sometimes, all you can do is rest and rehab to get ready."
Leighton's injury leaves Brian Boucher and 22-year-old Russian Sergei Bobrovsky to share the remaining four games of the preseason, including tonight's matchup in New Jersey.
