Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews is set to FINALLY return from long COVID-19

Jonathan Toews is preparing to return to the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup after battling long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome for much of the last two years.

Toews has not played since January, when he stepped away from the game citing health issues.

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson announced Friday that Toews will play Saturday against the visiting New Jersey Devils.

As Richardson recalled, Toews told him his return was ‘not going to be perfect’ and ‘might be ugly.’

But for a 24-45-6 team, that’s not a problem, Richardson explained: ‘I said, ‘We’re a little bit ugly right now, so you’ll fit right now.’

Toews has not made any long-term plans, as far as his potential retirement is concerned.

‘To be fully honest, I’m not near making that decision yet,’ Toews told NBC Sports Chicago. ‘I don’t feel like with what I’ve been through this year and this past season that I have enough clarity on what that decision is going to be.’

The 34-year-old three-time Stanley Cup champion is in the final year of an $84 million contract, and recently lost his long-time teammate Patrick Kane, who was traded to the New York Rangers.

Toews returned to the practice ice earlier this week.

He hasn’t played since January 28, but spoke to the media for the first time in weeks on Tuesday morning, saying he doesn’t know if he’ll play beyond this season.

‘I don’t know if it was when we were on the road a lot or leading up to the break and it just got to the point where I couldn’t move on the ice and didn’t even want to put on my skates or roll out of bed to come to the rink, so it was pretty rough there for a bit,’ Toews said, as quoted by The Athletic.

‘And so I think it probably took me a couple of weeks of just wrestling with, in my own mind, trying to figure out what the right decision was, if I should keep trying to push through it, which really didn’t feel like an option anymore… Or kind of pulling the plug in and trying to focus my energy on getting better.’

Toews couldn’t help but address Kane’s absence when speaking to reporters earlier in the week.

‘The guys that have been a part of this room these last few years, namely a guy like Kaner who I’ve played with my whole career, and come back in the locker room right now and it feels a lot different but it’s definitely special for me, regardless of what happens in the future this summer, it’s definitely on my mind that this could be my last few weeks here in Chicago as a Blackhawk.’

Toews has not played since January as he’s battled lethargy and long-Covid