Matt Duchene Injury Update: Avalanche Forward To Return On Sunday Vs. Winnipeg

The Colorado Avalanche received good news on Saturday: injured forward Matt Duchene, out since Dec. 29, will return to the ice on Sunday. He will lace up his skates for Colorado against the Winnipeg Jets.

UPDATE: Matt Duchene expected to be in tomorrow's lineup against the Winnipeg Jets.

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 18, 2012

Duchene injured his knee against the Phoenix Coyotes on Dec. 29 and was expected to be out for a month at first. At the end of January, Duchene's return was put on ice for a little bit longer and termed indefinite.

Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak on Friday night with a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, but they have failed to win more than two straight games since early January. When Duchene was initially injured, the Avalanche went on a four-game winning streak, only to lose the next three.

Duchene has 12 goals and 12 assists for the Avalanche in 39 games, the former a tie for fifth on the team with David Jones.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Avalanche, head over to Mile High Hockey. And for more news and notes from around the NHL, visit SB Nation's NHL news hub.

Matt Duchene Injury Update: Avalanche Forward Likely Weeks Away From A Return

After Matt Duchene injured a knee on Dec. 29, the Colorado Avalanche said the forward would miss at least four weeks, and could be out for longer. Now it appears Duchene's absence is going to drag on well beyond the four-week mark:

"Right now, he's still out indefinitely," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said following practice. "Hopefully, he'll be on the ice sometime in the near future, but it's still indefinite and we'll see from there."

The Post's Adrian Dater suggests that the best-case scenario for a return would be "a minimum of two weeks" before Duchene could give any thought to a return to the ice.

Related: Matt Duchene Injury: Colorado Avalanche Forward To Miss At Least 4 Weeks With Knee Injury

Duchene has tallied 12 goals and 12 assists in 39 games this season.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Avalanche, head over to Mile High Hockey. And for more news and notes from around the NHL, visit SB Nation's NHL news hub.

Matt Duchene Injury: Colorado Avalanche Forward To Miss At Least 4 Weeks With Knee Injury

Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene suffered a knee injury in the first period of the team's game against Phoenix on Thursday, and the early prognosis is not good: the Avalanche said Friday that Duchene will miss at least four weeks of action and could be out longer than that.

The Avs cautioned the four weeks is a minimum, and could be longer.

Further tests are likely to be required once some swelling goes down to the knee, but for now the Avs are cautiously optimistic it won't be a longer-term, season-ending injury.

Duchene leads Colorado with 12 goals this season; he's second on the team with 24 points. According the Post, the Avalanche are not recalling anyone from the AHL just yet.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Avalanche, head over to Mile High Hockey. And for more news and notes from around the NHL, visit SB Nation's NHL news hub.