William Nylander’s Injury Status Complicates Sweden’s Olympic Opener

Team Sweden will get the honor of being Team Italy’s first game of the Olympics on Wednesday afternoon. The host Italians should have a big crowd there to see their home country’s opener, but it’ll also be an opportunity to see some NHL superstars from Sweden. However, one of Sweden’s biggest, William Nylander, missed practice on Tuesday while recovering from an injury, and his status for the opening game is questionable.

William Nylander is not on the ice at 🇸🇪 practice

Leafs winger returned from a groin injury on Jan. 31

Sweden plays its first game at Olympics tomorrow against host 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/t5Z1Df1RyZ

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 10, 2026

Nylander’s nagging injury with the Toronto Maple Leafs was always going to be a concern for his country. The forward missed six games earlier in the season with an undisclosed lower-body injury, then re-injured himself celebrating a goal six days later, which caused him to miss another seven games. He returned for three games before the break and looked like his normal self when he recorded a goal and three assists over the final two games.

Nylander was looking forward to the opportunity to represent his country at the Olympics after a disappointing 4 Nations Face-Off. Sweden was unable to find their way into the Championship Game, and the Leafs’ forward had a challenging tournament with just two assists in three games. The team’s outlook for the Olympics looked much better with fewer injuries.

William Nylander’s Injury Predicament

Nylander, battling this groin injury, brings up the first dilemma for a star representing his country at the Olympics. The problem with best-on-best hockey has always been the concern that players on multi-million-dollar contracts risk injury before heading back to the teams that are paying them. After Nylander already missed 13 games in January with this injury, it won’t go over well in Toronto if he is unable to play once the Olympics end.

It’s now up to Sweden’s medical staff to determine whether arguably Toronto’s top player can compete without risking further injury. Nylander will put up a fight to be able to play, but Maple Leafs fans are likely hoping that he will put his NHL club first and fully recover before the NHL season resumes. Toronto will be in a battle for a playoff spot once it does.

Next: Insider Doesn’t Rule Out Maple Leafs Offseason William Nylander Trade