St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas returned to the lineup Tuesday night, playing 24 shifts and 23:07 of his team's 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild after missing 12 games because of a fractured right ankle.
"It's obviously frustrating being out," Thomas, 25, said before the loss. "I invested a lot in myself, and I'm pretty happy with the result and getting back so soon. I'm excited to be back in the lineup and look forward to getting in the trenches with the guys."
Thomas fractured an ankle blocking a shot against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 22.
The Blues originally reported that Thomas would miss at least six weeks at the time of his injury. Thomas accompanied the team on its recent three-game road trip after skating with the team on Nov. 13.
"I started to feel better the last couple of days skating," Thomas said. "It got to a point where I was comfortable that I was ready to go. Pretty much the last week or so, I wasn't planning on the road trip but I wanted to be around the guys and take it day by day."
Blues coach Drew Bannister said Thomas put in the work to get back in the lineup.
"It doesn't look like he's missed a beat. He's in great shape," Bannister said. "He went away for a week, 10 days, two weeks to do some work in Toronto with his doctors there, and I think that really sped up the process."
Thomas had one goal and six points in seven games prior to getting hurt. He added an assist in Tuesday's loss for a team that went 4-7-1 in 12 games without the 2023-24 NHL All-Star.
"Being the guy that you know that you can be, that's pretty much it," Thomas said about his expectations upon returning to the lineup. "You can't get too complicated, too fancy early. You've got to get back into the rhythm of the game. It's tough being out for so long. Today was my first real practice with the guys, so it's going to take a little bit. Keeping it simple early will be important."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
