The Maple Leafs have been without their captain for four straight games and now details have emerged on why it’s taking this long.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews continues to be sidelined by an upper-body injury and will miss his fifth straight game tonight as his team visits the Capitals in Washington.

Last week, the Maple Leafs announced that Matthews would not play against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 5 due to an upper-body injury and went ont to confirm it’s an issue the star has been dealing with since the pre-season. Matthews was subsequently placed on injured reserve, freeing up his roster spot to Connor Dewar, who made his season against the Ottawa Senators last night.

Matthews has not been on the ice for the last couple of days, and chatter is getting louder about his longer than expected absence.

Head coach Craig Berube spoke on Tuesday about his captain’s injury and refused to say he had suffered a setback in his recovery.

“[The injury] is just not getting to where it needs to get to,” Berube said Tuesday. “So, we’re just trying to manage it and just trying to make sure when he comes back, he’s good and 100 percent.”

On top of that however, there is an even bigger reason why things have slowed down for Matthews’ return. According to Chris Johnston, Toronto’s tough schedule is to blame making hard for the captain to make his return:

“The Leafs’ packed schedule, including back-to-back games like tonight, has made it difficult for Auston Matthews to return. However, their recent three-game win streak had eased the pressure on him rushing back. The best hope for his return is Saturday at home against the Oilers, and it hopefully won’t extend beyond that.”

For now, IR is where Matthews remains, with the hopes that a lighter schedule coming up will allow the superstar forward to rejoin his teammates in Toronto.